


Bear your heart

by Glendaa



Category: Actor RPF, Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name (2017) RPF, Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types, Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shifters, Armie is a bear-shifter, Armie is a sweet mess, Cussing, Explicit Sexual Content (eventually), Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, I can't think of any other tag, Liz is married with Nick here, M/M, Paranormal, Slow Burn, Tim is 24 - Armie is 28, Timmy is a wolf-shifter, True Mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2019-11-07 14:13:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17962103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glendaa/pseuds/Glendaa
Summary: Wolf-shifter Tim runs into a bear in the woods.The stranger seems to not know that he is a shifter as well, but still needs a place to heal his wounds.Welcome to Arcadia, Armie!





	1. I never let a motherfucka break me

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: N-word 
> 
> Also:  
> I have no idea about what happens when police is involved. Sorry! Suspension of disbelief is deeply appreciated ;-)
> 
> BTW I’ll slowly update, since I’m in the process of wrapping up Once upon a time, but I needed to send it out in the universe.  
> Feedback appreciated!

_I'll be up up and away, up up and away_  
_Cause they gon' judge me anyway so whatever_  
 _I'll be up up and away, up up and away_

 

Tim is driving, head bopping to the music, right hand rapping in time to the lyrics.

 

 _The end is never the end._  
_A new challenge awaits._  
 _A test no man could be prepared for._

The night is dark, tiniest sliver of a moon peeking out from behind the clouds. A fresh start after the void. He feels light, a slight buzz coursing through his veins. He’s always this carefree this time of the month.

He may have closed his eyes for just a sec, humming to the tunes, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. A sudden movement coming from the bend of the road.

_Fuck._

He swerves, slamming on the brakes. Too late. Hears a thud, softer than expected. Sees something scampering away, a bulky mass of dark blonde fur.

_Shit._

He gets out of the pickup to assess the damage. Sees a streak of blood on the asphalt and inhales.

_Shifter._

His eyes instictively glower _fuck, a stray_ and search in direction of the woods.

That’s when he hears them.

Two men at least, maybe three, _yes definitely three,_ drunk and yelling on their truck. Heading in his direction. They are getting near, he now sees them. One is driving, the other two are leaning out from the windows, rifles in hand.

He groans, picks up the phone and taps the emergency code. He has to manage the situation, while waiting for enforcement to come. Or else somebody is getting hurt. Seriously hurt.

He sighs. _Rotten fools._

 

~

 

“Hey, boy”.

He groans. _I’m 24, when will this shit end?_

“Seen something weird going on here?”, the older dude yells to his face. His breath stinks in the worst way.

“Yep! Weird as fuck!”, giggle the other two.

“Not really, guys. Hunting party going strong?”. Small talk is not his forte, but he can manage. Help is on its way.

“Hey, why you even stopping in the middle of the road?”, dude keeps barking questions.

Tim doesn’t like his cold gaze.

“A dog ran into my car. Was checking the damage”.

“A dog, you say? Not something else?”

“Couldn’t really tell. Dark night”, he points to the sky.

“And where did this ‘dog’ go, do tell?”

 _Shit._ He knew the driver was soberer than the others. “He scampered away. Probably dead by now”, he says indicating the opposite direction in which the fur went. Which is a shitty move, he knows. Can’t help it though.

“Mmm”, driver mutters. “Traces tell another story”.

He now has three set of angry eyes looking at him.

Tim feigns indifference, plucks at his t-shirt.

He knows he finds himself in dangerous shit. Three drunken rednecks hunting? _Better keep chill._

“Hey, you aren’t one of those shitty vegans?”

 _A vegan?_ He chuckles. _Come on!_

“Fuck, they are everywhere!”, the older dude is spitting on the ground. “Asshole! It’s my constitutional right to hunt”. He’s now pointing his finger at him, smack in the middle of his chest. “Mess with my hunting, mess with me”.

He aches to react, but it’s still three to one. They are drunk and armed. _Relax, Tim, play stupid._

“Listen, buddy, I want no trouble”, he says tilting his head, his best impression of a harmless kid. _If they only knew._ “You wanna hunt, then go but… whatever that was, it looked big”. He shrugs his shoulders, playing friendly advisor. “Couldn’t really see it though, I was distracted-”

“By that nigger shit, you mean?”, older guy points at his pickup. Kudi is still blasting strong.

Oookk, so far he’s been trying to be patient, but this racist rubbish on top of… He’s rubbing the back of his neck, wondering if he could just- For once-

He sees red and blue lights approaching. _Thank Goddess!_

“Hi, Steve!” He watches the sheriff approach, hand resting on his gun, followed by chief deputy Roberts.

“Tim, you ok?”, the older man is eyeing the three guys.

“Sure. These gentlemen were hunting…” he wrinkles his nose a bit and sees Steve nod - to let him know he catched on the scent “… we just met”.

“Ok, sirs. Rifles down, firearms licence and ID. Now”, he asks.

“Shit”, the taller groans. “Just what we needed, a redskin as a sheriff. The fuck went wrong with this country?!”

Steve lets out a patient sigh. “You are not from here, am I right?”

The three men look at each other, warily.

“Cool, we are all going to the police station. Looks like you have been driving under the influence”, he talks calmly as he escorts them to the car.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be testing us here? Why going to the station? What about our truck?”. One of them is backing up.

“Hands up, sir. Not another movement”, Steve growls.

“Fuck off, I’m not leaving my rifle here. You don’t know what we saw. If you knew-”, he stumbles, alcohol clouding his better judgment.

Tim tenses. As do Steve and Roberts. _They know something. They saw something._

A couple motorcycles are coming up. Ansel, alone and Jade, with Cory at her back.

Tim smirks and shakes his head. He never calls for help, so they probably freaked out when they saw the message - and sent in the whole chivalry. _Good idea, after all._

He nods to them and slinks away, making sure the douches don’t notice. They are five to three – the fools, _silly_ _humans_ , sans rifles, pose no threat.

Time to find the stray.

 

~

 

Tim follows the blood. _A little too easily_ , he thinks. A shifter should try to make it more difficult to hunters. Looks like this guy isn’t even trying.

He shakes his head. Hurt or not, human or animal form, he should be more careful. He approaches the stray quietly, not wanting to spook him - some shifters react more violently than others and he doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of his paws.

 _Big paws_ , he nods as he spots him. A bear. _A fucking golden bear._ He scratches his head. Sniffs. Nope. Not a common smell. Nothing he met before.

He crawls towards him, open hands, palm up. “Hey, big boy”, he whispers. “Don’t worry, the assholes are being taken care of”.

The shifter doesn’t answer his words. His eyes are light blue slits, he notices. He feels pain radiating from the big body. And fear. He seems terrified. Not a good sign.

“Hey, buddy, it’s ok, it’s just me here”, he tries to speak in his most soothing tone. “Let me check your wounds, ok? Sorry if I hit you. No grudges, ok?”

“What the fuck are you doing?”, he hears Jade hiss behind him. “Look at him. He’s a fucking feral!”

Tim spins to look at her and immediately knows that was a shitty choice. He sees her mouth open in a wide ‘oh’ as she grabs her tazer gun. He turns back and sees the bear’s paw ready to punch him in the head, He has just the time to mouth a silent ‘what the fuck, dude?’ before he collapses to the ground.

 _Well done, Tim. That’s what you get for being kind_ , he thinks before everything turns black.


	2. Of beasts and men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim wakes up at the local hospital and discovers something about the bear he met in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience and inquiries. 
> 
> The last weeks have been a bit heavy and I’m slowly getting back to writing and updating this new fic as well as ‘Once upon a time’.
> 
> Please, if you wish, tell me what you think!

 

_Alcohol._

_Blood._

_Urine._

_Cleaning solution._

_Food._

_Cheap imitation of coffee._

_Sweat._

 

Tim sniffs and groans.

 

_Hospital._

 

He slowly opens his eyes, whimpers at the pounding in his head and shifts on the paper sheet. The thing scratches his naked ass.

He sighs.

He hates the hospital smell. It’s sterile, sad and sick at the same time. _Like when mom was-_

Pinching the bridge of his nose (it hurts, his whole face hurts), Tim closes his eyes and tries to focus on his breathing.

“There you are, Sleeping Beauty! How are you?” Saoirse is smiling as she strides in - with a ‘Thanks a Latte’ paper cup, no less! - and kisses lightly his forehead.

He winces at the feathery touch. _Ouch._

“You scared me, you know”. Her brows frown when she looks at him straight in the eyes.

“You don’t go after a feral by yourself, Tim. What were you thinking?”

“Gimme, gimme”, he makes grabby hands at her. He’s feeling almost awake now that she’s brought real coffee, nothing like the swampy broth they sell here (that he knows all to well, unfortunately). He inhales and smiles - it’s his fave, she’s not his bestie for nothing.

 _Things are looking up_! He moans as he swallows the double java-caramel-chocolate drink. None of that non-fat shit, _yay_! He’s happy as he laps at the whipped cream.

“Love you so much, Sersh. You are the best”.

“Of course I am”, she arches her perfect eyebrow. “I’m no butt-sniffing dog”.

Tim rolls his eyes. “He’s no feral, by the way”.

“What?

“The bear. He’s not a feral”.

“That’s not what Deputy Roberts thinks”.

“Uh?”

“They are interrogating him right now, but apparently he’s decided to just keep his mouth shut”, she sighs. “Not looking good”.

“And you know that how?”

“Ansel dating Pat, duh?”

“Who?

“Cherry blonde, big boobs, smart mouth?”

He blinks. “Nope”.

“Nurse here? The fox?”

“Oh, ok”. _It’s just too difficult to keep up with Ansel’s dating life,_ he thinks. _Last week it was the twins hyenas. Or wait, was it the curvy black-_

“You sure you feel ok?” She touches his non-bruised cheek and he senses her worry. A sweet wave of affection is flowing towards him.

“I am. I swear”, Tim threads his fingers with hers. Kisses her knuckles. “Thank you for caring so much”.

She rolls her eyes and punches his shoulder. “None of this sappy shit, bitch!”, but her smile goes from ear to ear.

Tim shifts with a groan. “He just knocked me to the side, you know. I guess he wanted to run. He meant no harm”. He feels uneasy, hope the cops will go easy on the bear. “He was terrified, Sersh. You should have seen those assholes-”.

“But hey, you two were alone in the woods! Why didn’t he just shift back?”, she shakes her head. “Why did he hit you, of all people?”

“Don’t know, he seemed confused”. Tim yawns, _java’s magic not working properly today._

“You just rest, Timmy Tim”, she says. “Don’t worry about anything”.

“Mmm”, he retorts before falling into a restless sleep.

 

~

 

When he wakes up again, the door to his room is open and he sees a stretcher being rolled down the corridor.

Iris is lying on it.

She looks pale but gives him a weak smile and a tiny wave with her hand. He greets her back as Deputy Roberts enters the room.

“Is she ok?”

“Yes, she is. The usual, you know. Only worse this time. Three humans to erase”, he drags the nearest chair to Tim’s bed. “And we have a bear not willing to cooperate”.

“What happened?”

“You tell me, Tim”.

He sighs and recounts him everything. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not much”.

“It’s ok. Just wanted your statement for Alpha. You know he’s wary of strays in the area”, Roberts stands up.

“Um, listen”, he shifts his foot nervously and looks embarassed. “It’s better if you hear it from me, so when they start, you know, you’ll be prepared, yes?”.

“Hear what? Prepared for what?”

“The assholes that hunted down your bear-”

“Oh, is he my bear now?”

“Um yeah, I mean…” _Is Roberts blushing?_ “They were waiting outside this establishment, um, they decided to, um, enjoy their friday night out with some, um, gay bashing, so-”

“What?”, Tim croaks.

“Well, you know Iris, how she can read minds as if she were flipping through a magazine”. Roberts shakes his head. “Those assholes… they were very collaborative, you know. They told her everything they did yesterday. One of them even told her about the shoplifting he did as a kid-”.

Tim nods. There’s not much you can hide from Iris when she pokes through your brain with her shamanic abilities. Motherfuckers stood no chance.

“So, they confessed that they spotted the bear, I mean, his human form as he was exiting this gay bar and followed him with baseball bats-”

“What?!” Tim is upset that his brain seems not able to come up with another word. _Maybe I have a concussion after all_ , he ponders. _Fucking assholes. I should have ripped their throats to shreds._

“He ran and they followed”, Roberts says. “What I mean is they are no shifter hunters. They knew nothing about us. It was just a coincidence. A shame the bear shifted before them… but there’s nothing to worry about now. Iris erased their memories, so… no risk”.

“Of course, now everything’s peachy, right?”, Tim growls. “They don’t know about Arcadia, so they can just go back to being fascist assholes that attack boys who like boys. But everything’s fine, right? Who cares, right? It’s only humans they are messing with. Not us!”

“Hey Tim, calm down. You know me - you know I don’t like this kinda shit, but my role is to protect this one community, not undo all the wrongs in the whole world”.

Tim nods glumly. “This is sick. Poor bear”. All of a sudden he slaps his forehead and winces from both the pain and-.

 _‘My bear’, well, of course._ He groans and looks at Roberts, eyes becoming slits.

“Who knows about this?”

“Um, you know Arcadia...”

 _Fuck_. He purses his lips. Everybody knows by now. Or will know in a day, tops. And they will tease him so much about it.

People of Arcadia are tolerant and mostly open-minded, it comes with the whole mission of the place.

Arcadia, THE refuge for shifters. A peaceful sanctuary for everyone, regardless of species. Alpha has made it clear from the start that no bullshit is going to be allowed here. You decide to petition for citizenship, you can’t be an asshole looking for all the wrong reasons to start a fight. Felines, canides or any other group, of any skin color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation – nothing matters as long as you are a shifter.

Hey, even interracial couples are accepted, meaning human-shifter pairings. In fact the baker is indeed human and married to a fox, they even have two kids together, no idea if they will shift come puberty or not, but yeah… And this even if in most shifter packs the very idea is still illegal.

But being gay in a shifter community? That’s totally another thing. It’s so rare, a glitch in the system apparently. Strong biological drive to breed and stuff.

Hell, Tim is the only one in Arcadia. And knows of no other gay boys or girls his age in other communities. Knows very well what not being straight might entail in some packs or prides – punishment, exile, even death.

They have no problem with him here, but still many people - mostly men to be honest - can’t fathom how biology hasn’t pressed Tim to find a nice female and settle down. He is an anomaly. Tim suspects that some of them think he is just a freak of nature. But Alpha is quick to nip bullshit in the bud.

Tim sighs. Shifters here are basically good people, but very old fashioned about those kind of things.

“Fuck. My life will be Hell!”, he groans.

Up until now, when someone was a little too curious about his sexual habits, flipping the bird was enough to stop them. Some remarks kept coming his way every now and then, especially during mating season. But there never had been another gay male in town…  
“So, um yeah. Take care”, says Roberts leaving the room.

“Wait, where is he now?” Tim doesn’t even have to clarify what he means.

“Here, Iris worked on him”.

_ _ _

 _Fuck fuck fuck_.

Tim thinks about the bear. How he got bashed first as a human for being gay and then hunted down for being a bear.

_What a mess._

His head throbs but he’s happy he was there, on that winding road, at the right time. _Probably saved your furry ass, dude._ But if Iris has worked her magic on him, the bear might be hurting right now.

_A gay bear._

If the whole situation hadn’t been so horrible, it might have been quite funny. ‘A gay bear enters into a bar…’ Tim chuckles. _Would it be a leather bar?_

He exhales. He needs to check on him, see that he’s fine. He just has to.

As he stands, Tim sniffs deeply. Follows the scent until it becomes stronger.

 

~

 

He’s so focused on following the bear’s scent, unconsciously learning it by heart, that he sees them only at the last minute.

Ansel and Cory are standing guard outside his room, all serious, talking. Ansel looks up and smiles at Tim, Cory snickers as he takes in his hospital gown.

“Already going to visit your bear? Dressed like that you may be ready for a pounding, but I think he’s not able to raise his-”

Ansel elbows him in the ribs. “Cut it out, Cory. How are you feeling, Tim?”

He inhales and exhales deeply. Cannot let Cory get him. “Good, thanks, bro. News?”

Ansel shakes his head. “Still out. They gave him a massive dose of tranquilizers. Big guy is strong”.

“Did Iris-?”

“You know I cannot tell, Tim. Ongoing investigation…”

“I see”. He comes near. “And yet you can tell Pat stuff?!”, he spits. He’s pissed about Cory and Ansel is a safer target. And a good friend.

Except when he’s drunk and wants Tim to listen him complaining about how all his conquests end up breaking his heart.

Yeah, Ansel is nicer than Tim, at the moment at least, because he just snorts and opens the door. “Go to him, Tim. I know you want to see how he looks like”. He winks and Tim rolls his eyes.

Cory tries to interject. “He cannot go inside. We have to watch-”

“Let him go”, says Ansel. “It’s not like he will do something stupid”.

“Hey, if he fucks the bear I want to wa-”, Cory barks.

Tim’s hand is at his throat in a second. He’s no prude - no shifter can be, they are too in tune with their bodies, animal insticts strong and proud - but Cory’s sleazy ways are just too much. And his head hurts. He has no patience left.

He pushes Cory against the nearest wall and growls hard in his ear, letting his anger vibrate deeply.

“You cannot do that”, the cop spits, struggling against him, but Tim does not relent his assertion of dominance.

Ansel says nothing and turns his back, a sudden need to inspect his nails.

Tim’s grip is strong and his growl gets stronger. Eyes shift from pale green to amber yellow.

Cory winces. “You cannot do that, Alpha is against- I will tell him-”

“Stop harassing me, Cory. Enough is enough. And if I ever learn that you don’t behave nicely to the bear, I swear to the Goddess I’ll…”

Cory whimpers and finally bares his neck. Tim keeps his hold on him.

“Enough, Tim”, Ansel pats his shoulder sweetly. “Cory understands now. Right, Cory?” A quick nod is answer enough.

Tim lets him go and turns to enter the room.

“By the way, Cory, for a straight dude you seem way too interested in where I stick my dick. Something you care to share with us?”

Ansel chortles, Cory just blushes and leaves.

 

_ _ _ _

 

The bear is no bear at all. At least at the moment.

Tied to the hospital bed, wrists and ankles in padded straps, lies a man. A beautiful man, Tim notices.

Tall, probably taller than he is - lying down it’s hard to tell exactly.

Long, blond hair, unkempt beard and big hairy chest.

The man is as golden as his bear. _Beautiful_. Golden as one of those handsome Olympian Gods that humans worshipped a long time ago. An Apollo, god of sun and music and light.

Tim feels his throat go dry.

Something is jumping inside his chest, doing cartwheels in his stomach.

_Fuck._

He wishes to run his hands in that long hair, nuzzle his neck, graze his strong jaw and full lips with the tip of his fingers.

He swallows. _The man is unconscious, Tim, get a grip._

He is covered from waist to feet and Tim cannot stop his hazy brain from wondering if, under the sheet, his long legs sport the same kind of blond hairs as his chest.

And obviously his thoughts go to other bodily areas that can sport hairs, like his crotch _mmm, yeah, focus on his crotch_ his reptilian brain - _wait? do shifters have a reptilian brain as well? I should have paid attention in class! who cares_ \- suggests.

_How does his cock look nestled in wiry golden-?_

Tim groans. The bear’s smell is mouthwatering enough and he has to stop sniffing around. He’s already half hard as is.

He shakes his head and observes the body. The man has cuts and bruises allover. His nails are torn - _ouch, that fucking hurts_ , Tim thinks – and he’s thin, too thin for a man his height. Like he’s not been eating properly.

His life is obviously rough, _a stray for sure,_ Tim thinks and on top of that he had to fight and run for his life.

He feels pity for the man and at first doesn’t notice that he’s being watched as well. But all of a sudden the hairs on his arms stand up, some kind of electricity starts running through his veins.

Tim turns to find light blue eyes staring at him, a strange expression on the man’s face. As he nears him, the man gasps, tries to move, finds out he’s tied strongly.

And everything goes completely apeshit.

The man roars, a loud noise that has Ansel and Cory rush inside.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, he just woke up, he’s groggy”, Tim pleads, but he sees their expression. _It’s a feral, they think._ He sees them call the nurse on the intercom.

“Hey, hey calm down, calm down”. Tim tries to soothe him, but he’s growling, claws and muzzle elongating.

“Shit”, Cory’s hand goes to his tazer gun but Tim grabs him.

“Don’t you dare”, he hisses.

Ansel is quicker than the two. “Just stop this nonsense! There’s a difficult twin childbirth going on - they cannot come right now with the sedatives. Bear’s tied up, so calm down”.

“Out, just go ouside”, Tim spits. “You are making him nervous”. He gazes harshly at Cory.

“Come on. Tim will handle this”, Ansel murmurs quietly.

 

As soon as they leave the room, Tim approaches the shifter. “Listen, I know you are scared. You are tied up and don’t know what it’s happening but…”

He stops, notices the man is fully human again and staring at him warily, taking in his swollen face. _He knows he has hit me._

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. Shit happens. No hard feelings, bro. I swear. I-”.

It’s then that the shifter grabs Tim’s wrist.

 _How the fuck has he broken a strap?_ , he thinks before panic kicks in.

“Calm the fuck down, buddy! This won’t do here. They already think you are a feral, keep acting like a nutcase and your stuffed head will be decorating someone’s living room very soon”.

Which is complete nonsense - they just don’t do that, they are shifters, not barbarians - and not the smartest thing he could have said because golden boy’s eyes are popping out of his skull, frantically looking for a way out.

_Think, Tim. Do something. Show him he’s safe! Probably last thing he remembers clearly is those assholes hunting him down and he wakes up to find himself tied up..._

“Hey look at me, ok? Buddy? Just look at me”.

The bear still hasn’t let his wrist go. _Such a strong grip. Fuck._

With his free hand, Tim grabs the nearest chair and shoves it parallel to the bed. Doesn’t want to jump on his chest, he’s badly hurt after all.

Tim yanks away the hospital gown. Flimsy thing pools at his feet.

“I know what you are. I’m like you”, he says calmly. “We all are. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you, ok? You are just in shock, but things will get better, ok?”

Light blue eyes are taking in his naked body – he seems curious but uncomprehending.

Tim sighs and thinks _better just show you._

He jumps, lands on all four on the chair and sits on his behind. Dark tail hugging his feet, he tilts his head, relaxes his ears and lolls his tongue in a ‘mean no harm’ move that’s universally understood.

He waits.

Sees light blue eyes go big as saucers before golden boy swallows audibly. He’d be still gripping his wrist, in theory, but with the shift Tim’s front leg is now free so he presses his paw into the blond’s palm.

The bear growls have stopped, so Tim’s starting to think things are _finally_ getting better, when the blond’s mouth mutters a soft ‘oof’, head falling on the bed.

Golden boy has fainted.

 

 _Oh, come on_ , Tim thinks. _WTF?_


	3. When I got a mil I got excited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim feels very successful - he gets home with a plan for the bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a clarification - this is not going to be an A/B/O fic. There will be mentions of power dynamics and hierarchies and stuff - because, yeah, shifters are also animals after all - but not in the typical fanfiction sense. More like in the ‘nature observation’ sense. 
> 
> If you like animals and wilderness, check these infos I found about wolves’ pack dynamics. It’s fascinating. https://www.livingwithwolves.org/portfolio/2486/
> 
> Title from Cardi B’s ‘Drip’.

 

Steve (well, Sheriff Steve Ducheneaux, to be precise, but how can you call a man by his title when he has been your wilderness guide and all around father figure as a child? Tim just cannot, and with him most people his age) always says he would be a great Beta.

“You have it in you, Tim”, he repeats every once in a while, probably believing that if he tries hard enough Tim will succumb to the brainwashing.

 _Nope_ , he thinks.

“You have the confidence to be yourself and no need to prove anything to anyone. You have a sharp mind - you always find a way to get what you want”. He then usually proceeds to tell some obscure anecdote of Tim’s childhood that ends with a tiny Timmy grinning with pleasure and Nicole shaking her head, before scolding him for some risky behaviour.

“You’ve got a dominant strike, but only for the wellbeing of the pack. You hate it when someone hurts another for no reason. It makes your blood boil. You are very perceptive and have a willingness to serve. You are not envious of the Alpha position, you don’t care for power games”.

“Steve”, he replies, “this is all very nice, but you know that our Alpha here manages a mixed pack”. _More like a zoo_ , he thinks. “These alpha/beta/omega rules work for us canines, but…”

“No buts, Tim. Every pack has a need for structure – even one as unconventional as ours. Probably even more so. Rules maintain order. A strong hierarchy is what makes peace possible”.

He usually rolls his eyes at that and gets a growl in return.

“Steve, come on, I just don’t have the ambit-”

“And that’s exactly why you are perfect for it”, he sighs. “I’m getting old Tim, sooner or later I’ll have to resign. You’d be perfect for the role. And don’t tell me you truly prefer that internet stuff. All that Futura, Gill Sans and Ariana Grande silliness”.

He snorts at that. “Ariana Grande is not a font, Steve… and you know it very well”, he adds after seeing a glint in the older man’s eyes. “I like being a graphic designer, thank you very much”.

A variation of this kind of dialogue happens more often that he likes. But today, just today, Tim starts to think that maybe, just maybe, Steve could be right.

After all, it was so easy to get the informations he wanted (and that the cops, _fuck you Ansel_ , weren’t willing to share).

He just had to:

\- go to the receiving desk, distract the nurse with some silly excuse, check the schedule and see when Pat would be there.

(He then feigned a headache to go back to his room and wait.)

\- decide that observation time had been enough and go check himself out. What a coincidence that this happened after Pat’s work shift had started, right?

He grins. _Smooth._

\- unleash his wolf hearing, quite adept at discovering hushed conversations about plans for dates and how to blow (pun totally intended) a certain someone’s mind in bed.

Luckily for Tim, all the times he had to hear Ansel’s unsolicited tales of erotic adventures - wishing earth might swallow him whole, _and quick, pretty please_ \- proved to be useful.

“The Goddess has many ways”, Mom would say. _Oh, yes_ , he thinks. _Blessed be._

\- hint that his best friend Ansel would bring him food later in the day - when asked if he had someone to check on him at home.

Pretty fox’ ears had perked up - Pat was so helpful and kind after that. He rolls his eyes at the memory.

He might have scattered a hint here and there to show her how much he knows Ansel and… _Bingo!_ They moved into casual chat territory and Tim had all the infos he needed. Easy peasy!

_~_

He is smiling as he hops on his pickup. After 24 hours he’s finally free to go. Without a concussion or anything, _of course_.

“You were lucky”, they say. But he knows better - bear was simply trying to flee, not at all interested in really hurting him. He doesn’t care if nobody believes him. He feels it in his bones.

Is it truly a Beta’s ability to perceive things clearly? Is Steve right? Who knows! He is just sure of that. _Fuck what people think_.

He blasts vintage Cardi on the way home.

 _I gotta work on my anger_  
Might kill a bitch with my fingers  
I gotta stay outta Gucci  
I'm finna run outta hangers

He’s feeling better. Headache’s gone, he only needs a shower to get rid of hospital smell. _Ugh._

He smirks. His sleuthing abilities are the best!

What Tim knows by now:

\- Golden boy is 6’5” and weighs 178 lbs (way too thin for a bear, but he already knew that). The starved look may work on Paris’ runways, but royally fucks for a shifter, especially ursine. So… Tim’s main mission will be to put some meat on those bones.

\- There are drugs in his system, quite a lot of them and a weird mix at that. Also, alcohol. And his hormones levels are allover the place - testosterone in particular. Pituitary and adrenals are acting strange. A chaotic mess that cannot be deciphered by the hospital lab. They’ll have to use the research facility but… it’s the weekend. They will wait for Monday and the college to open to see what comes up. That they wait is good – no menace for the pack is perceived (otherwise fuck the weekend, they’d had demanded results like now). _For the bear is soo much better. Like. Seriously._

\- Doctors now think he might be an addict; it’s not so unusual for strays, but that’s mostly wolves or cats, if they happen to be thrown out of their packs and prides. Bears are independent animals, though; they live on their own or in very small groups. They are chill, mind their own business, like being alone and in silence. Of course golden boy is not an addict, Tim is sure of that, but he’s still happy because…

\- Whatever the deal, now gay bear has been at the hospital for 24 hours so the substances are getting out and…

\- His strange behavior (shifting in front of humans, refusal to talk to the cops, anxiety and mood swings…) makes much more sense. He’s probably out of the accusation of being a feral - and all that ‘THAT’ would entail. No pack, doesn’t matter how open-minded, would let a feral free and put at risk kids and families. Drugs? Shitty thing, but nothing that hasn’t been handled before.

So Tim is positive. It’s only a matter of time. Cops and Iris, maybe Alpha as well, will have a chance to talk to him in a few hours, when he’s clear headed again and everything will be peachy. He’s sure of that.

And if that’s not the case? Tim will find a way to make everything peachy. The how is still not totally clear, but he will.

 

 _Came through drippin'_  
Came through drippin'  
Came through drippin'  
Diamonds on my wrist, they drippin'

 

\- - - - -

 

When he gets home, Tim texts Pauline. It’s obvious that nobody has alerted his sister or she’d called already.

<T> Hey, sis, don’t freak out. Had an accident in the woods so I went to the docs. Already back home. Gotta chill. Bye.

<P> Still at Round Top, lots of stuff for the shop. See you in two days.

<P> Grow up already!

He chuckles. Of course she thinks he pulled some reckless stunt. He’s cool with that. She’ll scold him enough when she knows the truth.

After a shower and nap, he’s ready to invite Saoirse over, when the bell rings and there she is, with a huge pepperoni pizza.

“Just Coke for ya. No beer!”

“Fuck Sersh”, he whines.

“Nuh uh. Not with all the stuff they gave you at the hospital”, the blonde shakes her head.

“Behave, Tim. Good boy. Stay”, she says patting his curls.

He growls “I’m not your puppy” and tackles her. They end up in a mess of limbs and yaps and hisses.

When they finally stop giggling, Saoirse asks him in a subdued tone, “Do you think we should grow up after all and stop with this nonsense?”

“The fuck?”, he barks, but already knows what happened.

“You know…”, she plucks at her tee.

“Your mum knows nothing, Sersh”.

She nuzzles his neck and he feels wetness. He laps at her tears.

“She just isn’t worth it. Have you told your dad-”

“He just freaks out when she calls me. I think he’s still upset that she left, you know”, she whispers.

“I think he’s upset that she manages to fuck with your brain every time you hear from her!”, he spits. He truly cannot understand how a mother can be so bitchy with her only child.

“Hey, she just means good. In a way…”, Saoirse tries to scoot away from him but Tim is not having it.

“Hey”, he tilts her chin towards him. “You are perfect as you are - quirky, funny, kind. Her fucking expectations for a powerful marriage are of no importance. Your dad loves you, I love you, everyone loves you. I’m real sorry your mom is a bitch, but hey… I never even met my dad once so…” He shrugs his shoulders.

“You are right, Tim”, she sighs. “At least we’ve each had half of a great family. That’s more than many people have”.

“Exactly. My mom was an angel and your dad is one of the good ones. A very good one. But please don’t say to the Alpha that I said that of him. He would skin me alive”.

She chuckles. “My father thinks highly of you, Tim. You know that. He would be so happy if we got together”.

They look at each other.

“Eeewww”, they say in unison before laughing wildly.

“I’ll tell you what, Sersh. If you don’t find your true mate, I promise I’ll give you pups one day”.

“Kittens”.

“Pups”.

“Kittens”.

“You know there’s no way of telling with kind of kids would come up with a mixed pairing, right?”

She elbows him. “No way I’m having pups! You dogs stink”.

“Wolves, not dogs”. He rolls his eyes. “And it’s you cats that stink. You constantly have to lick your butts”.

“What? A gay dude that has problems with butt licking? Maybe that’s the reason you are still single!”, she laughs.

“Fuck off Sersh”, he pokes her ribs. “Maybe things will change”.

“Thinking about your bear?”

“I hope you appreciate I didn’t try to pry infos from my best friend that’s - oh so conveniently - the Alpha’s daughter!”.

“That’s only because you know there’s still no news”. She looks at him and whispers conspiratorially. “They took his fingertips, but there’s nothing on the shifters’ database”.

“Uh? That’s weird”.

“Yup. They are a bit freaked out. A shifter that’s not registered is a troubling anomaly to say the least”.

He kisses her temple. “Have you heard something else?”

“No, but they are very careful around me. They know I’ll tell you as soon as I hear”.

“And that would be a problem why?”

“They feel you might already be ‘too invested’ seeing the whole ‘gay’ thing”, she finger quotes.

“Uff. What happened with the whole ‘Arcadia, refuge for shifters’?”

“If he’s feral…”

“He’s not. He’s full of drugs, confused. He’ll get better in time”.

She looks at him intently. “You like him, uh?”

He blushes. “He’s quite hot”.

“Don’t try to play me. I know you too well...”

“I need at least a swig of beer to talk about this”, he pleads.

“Nope”.

He rubs his face and sighs. “Yeah, he’s hot. But it’s more than that. I mean… Sersh, he looks so sad and scared. I want to grab him by the scruff of his neck, bring him here and nuzzle and lick him until he’s a blubbering mess.

“Oh, wow. That’s something else. You never brought anyone over.”

He scratches the back of his neck. “ I’m pathetic, I know”.

She seems deep in thought.

“Ok, I want a peach-colored dress, halter neck and ruffles on the side”.

“What for?”

“Your wedding, goose. Oh my, you dogs are really dumb”.

“Fuck you, Sersh”.

“Love you too, Tim”.

 

\- - - - -

 

He’s going to bed, later that night, when he gets a call from Ansel.

 _Finally_ , Tim grins. _Was counting on it._

“Hey, bro, you ok?”

“Sure thing. Just chilling. You?”

“Um, I wanted to… um. Thanks bro. Best date of my life tonight”.

Tim chuckles. “Pat delivered?” He swears he can see Ansel blush through the phone.

“Um, yeah, um, I mean…”

“Good for you, man”.

“Listen, Tim, are we good though?”

 _Bingo again_ , he thinks. _I’m a boss._

“You know… I wish I could tell you something about the bear but…”

“Ansel, come on. We are friends, right?”

“Um…”

“Of course I don’t wanna get you in trouble! I know you cannot ‘divulge sensitive information’. But I’d appreciate it if you could tell me some small thing of no importance”.

He hears a chuckle.

“That’s why I’m calling, Tim. Your bear is being checked out from the hospital and transferred to jail right now. Visiting hours start tomorrow at 8”.

“Thanks, Ansel. Say hi to Pat for me”.

“Actually… we decided to not pursue this”.

“What? The fuck happened?”

“Nothing. She just wanted to get back to her boyfriend apparently… Um, yeah”.

“Sorry, bro”.

“Nah, it’s ok. Ladies love me, you know. Back on the saddle again and all that”.

“Ok, then. Night”.

“Bring some donuts tomorrow”, says Ansel.

“Asshole”, Tim retorts but he’s smiling. Things are shaping up.

 

\- - - - -

 

He parks outside ‘Thanks a Latte’ and inhales. The smell of coffee and vanilla and sugar and- _Oh my._ His mouth waters as he gets in.

“Hey, Nick”.

“Tim! You ok? I heard of your accident”.

He groans. _Of course word has spread like wildfire._

“All good, thanks”.

Nick is nice but he’s not ready for the scrutiny they’ll get if he starts to chat about the bear. With the human baker no less.

He doesn’t give a shit, obviously, but Nick is a good guy and some Arcadians are still appalled that he married a fox. So… not going there for now.

“The usual?”

“Make’em two. And a dozen donuts”, he says.

Nick quirks his eyebrow but doesn’t ask.

A few heads turn and look at him. The whole town will know by noon that Timothée Chalamet visited jail in the morning with breakfast.

He sighs.

“Liz?”, he asks, wishing to change the subject.

“School run”, Nick answers. “Harper’s very excited for today’s ballet show”.

“Of course”, he says. He almost forgot he got up earlier than usual to have some time with the bear. He usually comes in way later, Liz already at the cafè, baking her famous cupcakes.

He greets Nick and on a sudden inspiration crosses the street to JB’s Diner for some eggs over easy, home fries, bacon, rye toast with butter to go. Donuts and cakes are all very nice, but if he is to put some meat on golden boy’s bones…

He doesn’t even have to open the door himself. Jade and Deputy Roberts are sniffing at his paper bags. He shoos them away shoving the donuts’ box at the hungry posse.

He tilts his head towards Ansel, who opens the first then the second door and brings him to the bear’s cell.

“Open up”, he tells his friend.

“Nope, Tim”.

“What?”

“Not for now at least. We still don’t know if he’s…”

“If you say feral I’m going to bite you. Are you fucking serious?”

“Come on, Tim. Be reasonable!”

“Fine, then go”, he growls as he sits on the floor.

“By the way, he hasn’t had dinner yesterday”, Ansel says. “Or breakfast this morning. He has refused food and drinks aside from water”.

Tim nods. _Makes sense_ , he thinks. _He doesn’t trust us._

After the door closes behind Ansel, Tim looks through the bars.

The bear is sitting on his cot, facing the window and wearing the typical orange jumpsuit. His forehead is on the wall, his eyes are closed. Seems calm. _And sad_ , he thinks. _Always sad._

“Hey, um, hi. I’m Timmy. I brought you breakfast”.

Nothing.

“Do you remember me? We met before. I hit you with my car, so… breakfast is the least I can do, right?”

No answer whatsoever.

“We also met at the hospital”. At the word he seems to notice a flicker of reaction from the bear, not a pleasant one. “You, um, fainted when I turned into a wolf?”

Still nothing.

Tim wonders what’s going on. The bear is listening to him and understanding what he’s saying, at least on a certain level.

 _Ok. Non verbal communication it is._ He opens the paper bags and lets the smells do the trick. Not that a shifter needs an open bag to detect food, senses being super sharp, but…

He hears a stomach growl and golden boy turns his head.

 _Fuck. He truly is something_ , Tim thinks. His eyes are so beautiful, blue like pure mountain lakes.

Tim opens the coffee cup, unwraps the foil that covers bacon and eggs, takes out a couple donuts from the bakery _stolen from the cops, sue me_ and plates everything in front of him. Pushes th food through the bars.

The bear is transfixed. “Come, it’s for you”.

He stands, but esitates.

Tim grabs a couple of fries and makes a show of eating them and licking his fingers. “It’s so good. Trust me”.

This seems to do the trick as golden boy walks tentatively towards him.

He doesn’t know if it’s because he’s sitting crosslegged on the floor or because he is way taller, but Tim feels tiny in front of him. This releases thousands of fucking butterflies in his stomach.

He swallows. _Calm down_ , he reasons with himself as the bear sits and sniffs at the food.

“It’s ok. You are safe here”, he says softly.

The bear looks at him and seems to relax. He finally digs into his food and practically inhales it.

Tim busies himself by drinking his coffee, glancing at him sideways. Doesn’t want to startle him or start a fight by gazing too much. Who knows how the bear would react - but then golden boy moans as he eats his bacon and Tim feels himself harden.

 _Fuck_. He licks his lips and watches the bear devour everything with a satisfied grin on his face.

 _Fuck, are those dimples? Oh, Tim, you are royally screwed,_ he thinks.

“You liked that, uh?”

The bear is looking at him, a perplexed expression on his face.

“Ok, so, I have to go to work now, but…”

He extends his hand between the bars, palm open in a gesture of peaceful greeting. “I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow as well, if you wish”.

Still no answer, but his skin has taken a slightly healthier glow. It’s enough for Tim.

He smiles at golden boy.

“Please, eat what they bring you here. It’s good food. Well, not as good as this”, he gestures to the food wrappers “but it’s not spiked or anything ok? I know you may not understand why you are in jail. I’m sure you didn’t do anything bad, but it’s just the way we do things here”.

“Everyone who is a foreigner spends a couple nights in a cell, it’s routine, you know. Even my mom did and basically everyone who was not born here. It’s just while they check on you, ok?”  
Tim worries his lips, whishes there was a way for him to make the bear feel safe.

He smiles and turns to leave when golden boy grabs his hand and opens his mouth to speak.

A croak comes out, like the sound of a very rusty engine when you try to start it again after a long time. The bear swallows and Tim sees the frustration in his eyes as he tries again and does not succeed.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. Don’t force your throat, ok? No pressure. You have to heal completely”, he rushes to say.

The bear swallows and closes his mouth, a defeated expression on his face. He then rubs tiny circles on the back of Tim’s hand, a sheepish expression on his face.

Tim smiles. “You don’t have to thank me. I’ll try to visit again later, but I’m not sure if that will be possible. You just rest. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast at the latest, ok?”

The bear nods, grabs the bars and watches as he leaves.

It takes Tim all his strength to not call in sick and spend the day on the jail’s floor outside the bear’s cell.

 _Get a grip, Tim. You are ridicolous,_ he shakes his head as he knocks on the door for Ansel to open.

He ignores the stares, luckily Cory isn’t present.

 

As he goes to his car, his lips quirk into a smile.

Golden boy has eaten the food he provided (and looks a tiny bit better already).

He is happy.

His wolf is euphoric.

 

Everything will be fine.


	4. Sunshine she's here, you can take a break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Golden boy meets the Alpha and Tim faces an important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it makes no sense as in 'how updating schedules works', since I just updated but... For 'Once upon a time' I'm waiting for a translation and this chapter was done and this week I won't be able to write other stuff so... Enjoy.
> 
> I can't draw for s**t, but I imagine the book mentioned here illustrated as a sort of mix between Richard Scarry's Busy, busy city and Steven Kellogg's The day Jimmy's boa ate the wash. 
> 
> Title from Happy by Pharrell Williams

 

Tim wakes up with a smile on his lips. Same smile he had all day yesterday. It’s almost comical if he stops to think about it, but…

The idea of having breakfast with the bear ( _yeah, he’s in jail, whatevs_ ) makes him stupidly happy.

He can’t remember how long ago his latest crush was.

Sweaty fucks in the back of a club? (Human clubs, obviously?) Well, he’s a young male, so, hell, yes! Quite a few.

But a real crush, a desire to know someone, to just be near them? Nuh, uh. He has to go back to his teenage years and they all seem so unconsequential now, child’s games compared to how that golden hunk of a boy makes him feel.

Yup. He’s so screwed.

The cheesiest words come to mind.

 _Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof_  
_Because I'm happy_  
_Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth_  
_Because I'm happy_

He’s pretty sure a bunch of silly Minions has sprouted in his brain. And they are now running around like squirrels at a rave.

He grins like a fool.

 _Here come bad news, talking this and that_  
_Well, give me all you got, and don't hold it back_  
_Well, I should probably warn you I'll be just fine_  
_No offense to you, don't waste your time_

Is it stupid to think that everything’s going to be fine? Is he superficial at minimizing the bear’s situation? Drugs, difficulty to speak, mood swings - this is serious stuff after all.

He furrows his brows, decides to focus on the positives.

An idea comes to mind. _Cool, that will help_ , he thinks as he grabs his backpack.

 _Hey, come on, uh_  
_Bring me down, can't nuthin' (happy)_  
_Bring me down_  
_My level is too high to bring me down (happy)_  
_Can't nuthin', bring me down (happy)_

 

~

 

As he enters the building, Tim groans.

Asshole Cory is there, but he openly ignores him.

_Good._

Jade tells him ‘John Doe’ has eaten lunch and dinner yesterday, but refused breakfast this morning.

 _He’s expecting me, then_ , he thinks. _Definitely good_. The ‘John Doe’ reference sucks, but hey, watcha gonna do? He shakes his head and goes to the cell.

Bear’s looking out of the window, but turns as he hears him get near, a shy smile on his lips.

“Hi. Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday, but… They told me this is ‘an actual jail’ and I cannot visit any time I like”. He rolls his eyes. “And… well, not more than once a day anyways so…”

He’s blabbering. _Get a grip, Tim!_

“Breakfast”, he announces cheerfully showing the bag to the blonde prisoner.

They sit on the floor and dig in, a familiar rhythm already setting in. _Yup. Better than good_ , he grins.

Golden boy seems particularly pleased by the cantaloupe and strawberry fruit salad he added this morning.

 _It figures, he’s a bear_ , he thinks. _Never been a fan of fruit myself, but hey, we wolves are a totally different type._

Tim’s kinda jumpy this morning and Bear seems to notice because he’s looking at him quizzically.

“Look, I brought you this”, he finally says, grabbing the big book in his back pack and sliding it between the bars. Bear takes it and stares at the colorful cover.

“It’s a children’s book. My mom wrote it”, he says and all of a sudden his throat tightens. “She was a writer and illustrator. She was the best mother anyone could wish for”. His voice becomes a whisper. “She died two years ago and… I miss her terribly”.

Tim feels the bear’s gaze on him and tries to swallow the pain. _No sense dwelling in the past._

“Anyways… She wrote the book when more people started to come to Arcadia, you know, in search for a place to live in. Many were from broken households or had been thrown out of a pack. Some of them had been abused and didn’t even know how to read, write and do basic maths. Also, people started to leave their kids here, to give them a brighter future if some kind of rotten hierarchy shit was preventing that in their original pride. So…”

He shifts nervously. Is this speech making any sense? Is this what has happened to the bear, somehow?

“She thought of a way to make people feel welcomed and to teach the basics to newcomers. So… um... yeah.. that’s what it is”.

He rubs his neck, wonders if this is a good idea after all, but the bear seems curious so Tim starts reading out loud.

“Welcome to Arcadia by Nicole Flender”. He turns the page - it’s not easy with the bars between them but hey, at least is not a solid iron door. _Focus on the positives, Tim._

Bear is sitting with his back leaning to the bars. Tim almost plasters himself to the metal, to flip the pages for him, so that they can both look at the book.

“See, this is the map of our town. Main Street, where the best bakery is, where I get our coffee-” He stops as he notices that while his cup is indeed empty, the bear’s is still half-filled.

“Are you not drinking that?”

Golden boy shrugs his shoulders.

“Don’t you like it?”

Bear looks embarassed.

“Whaat? You don’t like my double java-caramel-chocolate frappuccino? What kind of a freak are you?” he says, before seing a flash of pain in his eyes.

“Sorry, fuck, I didn’t mean it like that. I love coffee and you… Why didn’t you tell me something?”

The bear tilts his head and looks at him with an expression that says ‘Dude, seriously?’

“Fuck”, he groans and face palms. “Sorry, fuck, I’m an idiot”.

He hears a tiny chuckle and opens his fingers to peek at the smiling bear.

“You not mad at me, right? Sorry, seriously. We’ll find something that you like to drink… Hot chocolate or tea maybe? We’ll go to the bakery soon, you’ll see and you’ll choose, ok?”

He’s blabbering again and he feels like a complete fool, but the bear just points to the book.

“Oh, yeah. That’s Park square because, um, it’s near Washington Park, duh. That’s where city hall is. Then Eliot Street, Bedford, Hudson, Lagrange… Oh, yes, Orpheum theater and Temple street, that’s where we go for big religious festivities…” His fingers graze the page, following the roads on paper. The bear watches him, curious.

“You know, the town was built following old European standards – a big central square, not too many big avenues, a lot of independent shops. ‘To foster a much needed sense of community’, he quotes. People mingle with each other on a daily basis. You’d think that’s a recipe for drama with shifters, and it is at times but… it’s usually fine”.

Bear nods, seems intrigued. Tim flips to the ‘Ten Rules’.

“Welcome to Arcadia!”, he reads.

“In this community we:

respect one another

cooperate

encourage

share

do our best

support each other

work hard

play hard

value differences

dream big”.

It’s cheesy and Tim knows it. He remembers when he first read the manifesto and angrily told his mom “This place is no fucking fairytale! You only write bullshit”.

He had been a cranky tween nearing his first shift back then and Nicole had just sighed and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

“First of all, change your attitude Timothée or you’ll be grounded till graduation. Secondly, you have no idea how life is outside Arcadia. You are so lucky!”

He had snorted.

“Some kids come from horrible places and we have to start with the basics. It may be cheesy to you but it’s what they need, what everybody needs actually. Here we are a big mixed family, and yes, there’s people who grate your nerves and will always do. But these are the values this community is based on. Everyone has to be reminded of what we stand for”.

She had scrubbed her face and sighed. “And yes, life is much more complicated than this and yes, this is just a silly children’s book…”

He had felt like shit and hugged her and told her he was sorry. So sorry. He knew she had the best intentions but all that saccarine was rotting his teeth.

She had rolled her eyes and told him a run would do him good. It did.

He blinks, doesn’t want to get emotional, so he turns the pages to show the bear the gorgeous illustrations. Men and women and children of all ages, colours and sizes, in human and animal form, fill the book. Nicole had tried to be the most inclusive possible and she had even drawn the actual citizens of Arcadia (at the time).

“This is me and my best friend Saoirse. She drew us as wolf and puma, even before our first change, see? And this is me in human form”.

The bear looks at the illustration Tim is pointing at. A boy in a red jacket, dark curls bouncing while he walks to school. He touches the tiny head with the pad of his finger and Tim swears he feels the caress on his skin.

“Yup, that’s me”, he smiles. _Wonder how you were as a child_. _I bet you were adorable._

 

_ _ _ _ _

 

As he trudges through the layout of a boring mechanical parts’ catalogue, growling at Photoshop, Tim wonders about the bear. He seemed intrigued by the book, so he left it with him.

Cory of course had to ask him if his ‘new boyfriend’ was mentally disabled since he had to read a children’s book and the only reason he hadn’t punched his mouth was that Jade was nearer and did it herself. As soon as Pauline comes home he’ll ask her to prepare a bouquet for the cop. He’s pretty sure that with her badass attitude she doesn’t receive many flowers, but she deserves them and he will see to that.

He sighs and tries to bring his attention back to work when his cell vibrates. _Saoirse._

<S> Come here.

<S> Now!

<S> Your bear is being brought in!

Fuck. They are taking golden boy to the Alpha?! Why the fuck he’s not being summoned as well? _Because you have nothing to do with this matter?,_ his brain provides.

He shoves his stuff in the back pack, shouts a “Alpha summoning” to the office and runs. No objections are made. They all nod, even his boss.

Of course by now they know something happened to Tim concerning a stray bear. They’ll probably start to gossip as soon as he’s far enough to not hear them.

When Alpha calls, you run. Everyone knows that and does that. If you are summoned, you go. Full stop. There’s even paid leave for this kinda situations.

Now, if his boss knew he just made the summoning up… He sighs. For now, he just doesn’t care.

 

As he nears the mansion, he wonders how to enter the building. No way he can get in without being spotted. Better play it coolly.

“Hi, Alpha summoning”, he says at the gate and they just let him in.

The main entrance is also fine.

He shakes his head - everyone in this gossipy town obviously thinks that Tim and the newcomer are tied to the hips.

He’s almost at the door when Jade stops him, arms crossed on her chest. “Where do you think you are going?”

“Alpha summoning”, he says nonchalantly, but Jade just quirks her eyebrow.

_Fucking panthers._

“You were not summoned Tim. Just leave. Now”.

He could try to plead, but that wouldn’t work with her. She’s tough.

“I’ve got infos about the bear. Something I haven’t shared before with you cops”, he bluffs. “I’ll talk only with Alpha”.

“Seriously, Tim?” She sighs but doesn’t push it. Talks in her earpiece and escorts him in. “You owe me! Badly!”, she hisses before going to scold the men at the gate.

As he enters the main meeting room, Tim sees they are all there.

Sheriff Ducheneaux and Deputy Roberts, Ansel, even fucking Cory. Martin Pratt, chief of medicine at the hospital, Iris and the whole damn Arcadia Council all set in a half circle in front of the Alpha. Jade comes in and closes the door behind her.

Tim has always thought that having a council is such a cool thing about his pack, no Alpha dictatorship in his town. Now he just fears that too many people will have a say on the bear and he knows that there are a lot of conservative - well, for Arcadia standards - stances on strays. He’s suddenly nervous.

Then he sees golden boy and he lets out a pained growl. The bear is in shackles, hands and feet bound, shoulders slumped and head downcast. He takes a step towards him and hears the low roar of the Alpha.

“Chalamet…”

He staggers and nods, bares his neck.

Murmurs cross the room. He slinks back to the half circle, finds a place from which he can see the bear clearly.

 _Look at me_ , he thinks _. Open your eyes. I’m here. Everything will be fine. I’ll make it fine. I promise._

It’s the doctor that starts to talk. Tim listens half-heartedly, focused on the bear, who looks defeated but unharmed. They have finally received the results – the mix of drugs in his system has never been seen before. It’s no recreational drugs. For sure.  _I knew it_ , thinks Tim, but then he shudders. This is serious matter.

Doc looks worried and keeps talking but Tim is stuck at the rohypnol mention, only name he recognizes, from the media. Wait, isn’t it the rape drug? The fuck has happened to the bear?

He feels dread all of a sudden, how could he be so stupid?! So taken by his little crush to think that everything was fine when it obviously wasn’t?

His anguish spreads out of him as a thick fog. He suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder. Iris is smiling at him.

“Calm down, Tim. He needs your strength”, she says. He nods, feeling her calming effect on his nerves, but the lump lodged in his throat remains there.

“So… it is my opinion that we have to keep him in Arcadia, in a controlled environment of course, to study him. It may be very useful to understand why his hormone leves are so abnormal and-”.

Tim growls at Martin. “He’s no lab rat”.

“Of course he’s not. We have to discover what happened to him and see if he can recover”.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we tried to get a sample of his blood and the way he reacted…” Doc shakes his head. “Hence the shackles”.

“But, he’s not feral, right?” someone asks, a slight tremor in her voice.

“No, he’s not”. Iris speaks and Tim is glad that this feral nonsense is out of the window.

“I looked into him and saw nothing of that”, the shaman tells calmly.

Everyone nods.

 _That’s a start_ , Tim thinks. _Fucking finally._

“There’s the issue of non identification”, Deputy Roberts says. “He’s not registered in any shifter database - we checked with the SBI. The usual eye/nose recognition showed no pairing”.

“That’s bad. How can we keep him here in Arcadia if we know nothing about him?” someone says. “Our children need protection…”

Tim rolls his eyes and finds himself scolded by Steve’s hard gaze. Again.

He wants to scream and throw his arms in the air, Italian blood showing. _How can they fucking talk like that? Like the guy is not even there?_

“We’ll keep investigating”, Roberts says and stands aside.

“Iris, what do you think?”, the Alpha asks. She takes place in front of the bear, takes his head in her hands and touches calmly her forehead to his.

Tim sees him shiver. He knows it can be uncomfortbale having the shaman poke in your head and aches to go to him and hug him. Just hug him.

“He is getting better”, she says. “Drugs are leaving his system but something is still off. There’s a deep fog in his mind and body. Something is preventing me to read him completely and clearly. I can only catch glimpses of his past memories and have a feel for his personality”.

“So you basically say we have in our hands a sick shifter, possibly mentally ill, with no possibility to check his criminal records?”, a man barks in the background.

Tim bites his lower lip. Forces himself to stay still, knows Alpha is keeping an eye on him. Having a lion for an Alpha at least helps with that. Self preservation and shit.

He breathes to calm himself down.

“He’s a brother in need”, Iris says and Tim sends a silent prayer of gratitude. _Thank the Goddess she’s here_ , he thinks.

“With all due respect, Priestess”, the man continues, “the children… It is common knowledge that he was first spotted leaving a certain club…”

Tim cannot believe his ears. He feels his claws elongate. Where the fuck are your golden rules, mother? Where are the ’respect one another’, ‘support each other’, 'value differences’, mother?

He’s torn between anger and disappointment but keeps a calm face. He does it for the bear.

“Are you talking about the gay club?”, Iris says. “Yes, he was there. But we cannot be sure of the reason. He was heavily drugged, he may have been there by chance. Actually one of the few memories I could glimpse in his mind is of him with a woman. And by ‘with’ I mean mating”, she adds.

Tim feels all eyes on him, again – keeps a steely gaze. He knows that with shifters there’s no real possibility for privacy anyways (animal instincts are too sharp for that) and knows Iris’s words are actually helping the bear but he’s sick and tired of the whole situation.

“His sexual orientation has nothing to do with this matter. It doesn’t concern us. Arcadia is no place for omophobic bullshit. You better remember it”, he spits.

“You say that only becau-”

“Enough”, Alpha raises his voice. “Everyone has stated their opinions on the matter. Let me see him better”.

He comes close to the bear. He’s shorter than the shifter but his authoritative aura is so commanding, everyone in the room feels it clearly.

As he faces the bear he releases his power - strong coils of energy, invisible but very much present, extend to touch him. The bear shivers but doesn’t bare his neck.

Alpha increases the ‘voltage’ but nothing happens.

People start to look at each other, puzzled and scared. Is the bear really challenging the Alpha? In shackles? He must be crazy, then.

Tim doesn’t know what’s going on but starts to sweat. _Is golden boy trying to get himself killed?_

Alpha growls and everyone winces. Bear as well, but still doesn’t bare his neck.

The growl becomes a slow menacing roar that has everyone bare their neck. Even Iris shivers. The bear doesn’t budge.

The roar becomes louder and Tim feels his ears ring in pain. He knows everybody’s hurting too. People fall on their knees, whimpering. Tim included.

 _On your knees_ , he prays. _Please, golden boy, please, get on your fucking knees._

He sees him tremble, clench and unclench his hands, panting in pain. He looks like he’s going to vomit. It is then that it hits him.

 _He doesn’t know_ , Tim understands. _He doesn’t know._

He crawls to him, careful to keep baring his neck to the Alpha.

He grabs his legs and tugs. The bear seems to notice him only now. He whimpers in his direction.

“Please”, Tim says, “get down, like me, see. On your knees. Follow my lead”.

He pulls until the bear bends his legs and one knee touches the floor.

“Good boy, come on. The other one, now. Down, like this”.

He’s whimpering openly now, Tim strokes the nape of his neck.

“Shh. It’s ok. Breathe. Let go, just let go. Submit”.

Golden boy’s shoulders slump and his posture relaxes through the pain.

The grip of the Alpha lessens and everyone exhales. Still he doesn’t relent until the bear has bared his neck, following Tim’s example.

When the whole ordeal is finished, everyone is a mess of sweat and ashen faces. Tim is still caressing the whimpering bear’s hair.

“Alpha”, Cory croaks. “He’s been disrespectful-”

“Shut up”, he growls. “What kind of a cop are you? He had no idea of what he was supposed to do. Can’t you see the difference?”

The bear is clinging to Tim, panting in his chest, tears congealed on his lashes. _The idea of leaving him, of having him brought back to jail, is unbearable._

He gingerly peels himself off the bear and stands.

“Alpha”, he bows. “I petition to be this shifter’s mentor”.

Everyone turns to look at him.

“This is very serious matter, Tim”.

“I know. I pledge to take care of him, teach him our ways and, if in a moon’s time he’ll be ok, to ask for citizenship in his behalf”.

“At least 6 moons”, someone says.

“One”, he repeats.

“Are you aware of the risks, Tim?”, Alpha asks.

“I will be held responsible for each and any crime he may commit and suffer the same punishment, that being incarceration, exhile or even death”, he states, quoting the law.

Alpha shakes his head. “Very well, then. As you wish. We’ll keep investigating and the doctors will treat him as they see fit…”

He growls. Luckily Alpha ignores him.

“…with your supervision. In a moon’s time we’ll revaluate the situation. But no petition for citizenship after that. We’ll discuss it later”.

“Council, this session is up. Have a drink and a snack before you go. Refreshments are sorely needed after this discussion”.

“Ansel, Jade, bring the bear downstairs, clean him up and release him of the shackles”.

“Deputy Roberts, a public statement has to be affixed at city hall including any pertaining mentorship laws. Let people know that there’s a new guest in town. Explain the situation in a collected way”.

“Steve, Iris, Tim, in my office. Now”.

 

_ _ _

 

As soon as the door closes behind them, Alpha takes off his jacket and rolls his shoulders back and forth.

“The fuck has happened out there?”, he growls.

“Never seen anything like that”, Steve says. “This is Shifter 101. Lesson A, Submit to an Alpha. Makes no sense”.

“Tim? Any ideas?”

He shakes his head. “I tried to talk to him at breakfast but I think he has some trauma or something. Seems like he wants to speak but cannot. Maybe something at the vocal cords?”

“And yet Jade tells me you have information…”, says Alpha. “… never before released to our police forces”.

Steve quirks his eyebrow, Jade just snorts.

_Fuck, he knew that Alpha wouldn’t let his stunt slide._

“Well, Alpha”, he tries to remember something, anything that may be considered new information but nothing. The bear has said nothing about himself. Although… “He doesn’t like coffee”, he blurts.

“What?”

“He doesn’t like coffee. I brought him coffee twice. First time he drank it, because he was starved I think. But the second time he just left it. That’s weird, uh? I mean, who doesn’t like a double java-caramel-chocolate frappuccino, right? This is worrisome. I think the doctors should investigate that”.

He sees Alpha fold on himself, shoulders shaking until he erupts into a laugh. Followed by everyone else. When they stop, Tim has to dab at his eyes.

“Fuck, Tim, that your big revelation? Gee. Thanks for sharing”.

“I’m sorry, Alpha”, he says.

“No, you’re not, so stop pretending. Not here, between us”.

He scratches his neck, blushing.

“Do you possibly feel he’s your true mate, Tim?”, Alpha asks and the air around him is suddenly charged.

There’s no way to escape this and Tim’s always been one for honesty anyways.

“I like him. A lot. I don’t want to deny it. But for what I know from true mates’ tales it should be like an instant recognition from both parts... He may not even be gay after all and he’s sick. He just needs a friend and… I wanna be that. He’s a good guy, I feel it”.

“But you cannot be sure”, Alpha says, his voice calm and full of affection. “You took on a big responsability today, Tim. He might be broken beyond repair”.

“I know”, he nods. “But I’m willing to try”.

“Good, then. We’ll see. I’d like to add a bear to our community. They are cool people”.

Tim smiles. Grabs a glass of juice and some crackers and goes to find the bear.

 

Golden boy is in the garden, sitting under a flowering cherry tree, pink petals dotting the grass. He’s wearing a grey tracksuit - back leaning against the trunk, eyes closed.

He looks at peace. _Finally_. Tim sits beside him and sighs. _So beautiful._

“It’s a nice place, don’t you think?” The bear opens his eyes and takes him in.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that”, Tim says. “Please, eat something, have some juice”.

He nods and drinks the peach nectar, nibbles at the crackers.

“Listen… I... um… kinda told the people here that you’ll be living with me from now on. I mean… I guess you don’t want to stay in jail and thought you could stay with me. I’ve got a guest room and…”

He picks at his nails.

“What do you think? You need a place to stay after all and I guess it’s either jail or hospital so…”

He sees him wince at the words. “Yeah. I mean. Who would like that, uh?”

“But… I just need to tell you that I’m gay. So… if that’s a problem… I mean don’t worry, we can find you another place to stay in. It’s not like it’s either jail, hospital or my home”.

Actually, yes, it is either jail, hospital or Tim’s home, since he is now his mentor but, well, he just hopes…

He’s wringing his hands, _maybe I should have asked him what he wished to do_ , _where he_ _wished to stay before starting this crusade against the Council._

“I mean…”

He feels a soft touch on his wrist.

“Th-Thanks”, the bear croaks.

“Wow, you can talk after all…”

“R-rusty”, he stutters. “S-sorry”.

“Hey, no problem at all. Don’t strain yourself, ok?”

Tim smiles. “So… you ok with us being housemates?”

The bear nods, a shy smile on his lips.

 _Yup, dimples_ , Tim thinks. _I am so fucked._

“Great, let’s go home then”.


	5. The fuck is going on?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, could things go super smoothly for Tim and golden bear?! Yeah, right…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again ;-)   
> Sorry for the delay. I’m glad to be in Arcadia today.
> 
> When I announced from the start that this fic would update slowly, I hoped to do better, but… You can scream at me in the comments.

 

Tim pads through the upstairs hallway, stops a moment to listen to the soft snoring coming from the guest room and takes the stairs leading to the ground floor.

“Fuck”, he groans, as he sits halfway on the steps, rubbing his face.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

In front of him, the living room is a mess of overturned coffee table, ripped sofa cushions and torn books. His favourite painting is hanging crooked from the nail but still intact, he notices. How the flatscreen tv is not shattered is a miracle he doesn’t have an explanation for.

_Thank the Goddess._

To his left, the open plan kitchen is bearing _ah, hilarious_ the brunt of last night’s nonsense.

His beloved mid century modern rattan bar stools are kaputt (they look like gutted scarecrows leaving their innards on the ground).

Plates and cups are in pieces and - _fuck, oh fuck_ \- the paned door leading to the back garden is destroyed, the floor covered in what looks like thousands of sharp shards of glass.

He sighs. _There go my holiday savings._

Last night everything was going peachy, or so he thought. They were having dinner - he had ordered Mexican on the way home and had showed the bear his room while waiting for the food.

Later, golden boy had been quiet, big eyes taking everything in while shoving heaps of fajitas in his mouth. _So effing cute._

How could Tim imagine that their first night at home would end with him shooting tranquilizers at his guest and dragging his wobbly body to the bedroom before he would collapse snoring and be impossible to move any further?

Of course it was all Pauline’s fault… _Fuck, sis._

He had ignored his phone for as long as possible, but when he saw the missed calls and texts, each more frantic than the other, he knew that she knew.

He gave in and answered at last. The fight that resulted was nothing special _pesky older sister playing mother hen judging him a stupid kid, blah blah blah_ but the bear was not amused.

Like, not at all.

Tim had been too busy growling to Pauline, eyes shifting to a deeper amber color with every passing second and unsolicited piece of advice, elongated nails gripping the phone.

When he heard the first crash, it was too late. Golden boy had shifted inside the kitchen, trashing everything in his frantic effort to get. out. now.

_Fuck_.

Whatever cheesy notion of them sharing a spicy chocolate mousse had gone out the window. Out of the door, to be more accurate.

_My retro paned door. Urgh._

 

~

 

Tim hates wearing shoes inside (no shifter likes to feel constricted when it’s strictly not necessary) but there’s no way he wants to step barefooted on the mess that’s his entire downstairs, so he puts on his oldest pair of sneakers and gets to work.

_I need coffee_ , he thinks. _Fucking real coffee._

He grinds the grains and fills his 4 cups moka pot - he needs a caffeine overdose if he wants to face the day. Puts on his headphones and blasts Cardi B as he starts removing the debris from his kitchen.

The stools he puts outside - to be brought to the dump lately (if Pauline sees them, she’ll throw a fit, it took her weeks to find them to his specifications. Having an artist for a mother will apparently turn you into a design fetishist. Yeah, not very manly for a shifter, some might say, but Tim doesn’t care for heteronormative bullshit anyways).

He swipes and vacuums and mops - wants to be sure nothing will cut his feet later on, _thank you very much._

He’s inhaling his third coffee, eyes closed in the epic pleasure that only bitter espresso can give you, finally feeling somewhat saner, when a hand touches his shoulder making him jump.

“Fuck”, he swears, as his Illy Art Collection cup crashes on the floor spilling coffee everywhere.

Golden boy mutters a “Sorry” but Tim pushes him harshly towards the stairs.

“There! You. Stay. There”, he barks as he collects the broken cup. _WTF is going on today?!_

As he mops the spill, he turns to look at his guest and sees him sitting on the steps, hugging his knees. He’s looking around and his shoulders fall as he takes in the mess.

Tim sees him swallow and croak another “Sorry”, a defeated expression on his face.

Fuck. That expression... Bear looks like a devastated young Simba in The Lion king and Tim suddenly feels like shit.

_Poor guy is not well, you should have been way gentler_ , he berates himself.

“Listen, it’s not your fault, ok? I should have known better. It’s me who is sorry. I shouldn’t have-”.

“I always ruin everything”, golden boy murmurs glumly.

_The fuck?,_ thinks Timmy. _Where’s this self-loathing coming from?_

“Hey, hey”, he tentatively touch his cheek, tilts his chin towards him. “It’s just been a hard night. For both of us, right? Why don’t we just start over?”

The bear is scratching his shoulder and Tim wonders if he knows that he’s itchy because he shot him.

_First I hit him with my car, then this. Great, just_ _great. I’m sure he hates me already._

But he truly couldn’t let his first night in the neighborhood end with angry people calling the cops. _Hence, tranquilizers._

“I’d say we better have some breakfast, nobody can function properly on an empty stomach. Ok for you?”

Golden boy nods quietly and Timmy swears to himself he’ll be calmer with the guy. Who cares about stuff anyways?

 

\- - - - -

 

They are eating when the main door slams open.

“The fuck, Timmy? You cannot just hang up on me like that. I thought you might be attacked by-”

Pauline stops as she finally notices the stranger now living with her brother and takes in the disheveled rooms.

“What the hell-?”

“Hi, sis. Meet my new friend”. He tilts his head towards the bear.

“This is my sister Pauline”.

Golden boy mutters a shy “Hi” and turns his gaze to his scrambled eggs.

“Tim, what-?”

“I’ll call you later, ok? As you can see I’m fine, better than fine, actually”.

“Where are my barstools?”, she asks, brows furrowing.

“Later, sis”, he growls.

She huffs a “Fuck you TimmyTim” and storms out of the door, slamming it hard.

Tim cringes. “Don’t mind her, she’s just an overbearing-”.

“Don’t want to get you in trouble”, golden boy whispers.

“What?”, Tim groans. “Listen, I know I look younger but I’m 24, ok? I’m a grown man. It’s not like I can get in trouble with my sister!”

He hears him chuckle.

_Fucking finally_ , he thinks.

“Sorry, sorry”, he smirks, hands up. “If you say so… TimmyTim?!”

“It’s Timothée Hal Chalamet for you”, he pouts, crossing his arms on his chest.

They end up laughing wildly. _Ok_ , he thinks, _we can make this work_.

 

 

As he drives, Tim calls Pauline. After all, he loves her and doesn’t want her to resent his guest.

She’s not happy to hear his ‘adventures in animal husbandry’ (yeah, that’s how she calls it), especially last night’s events.

He tells her how they had arrived home after meeting with the Alpha.

“He needed a run or a swim, a walk at least”, Tim says. “Instead he got me screaming at you and he freaked out… He was probably still shaken by the whole afternoon. I should have opened the door and let him out, instead of trying to reason with him”.

“Tim-”, she tries to interject.

“He could have hurt himself badly”, he groans. “I was so stupid”.

“Did he attack you, Timmy? Please, be honest with me”.

“No, Pauline, no. He just shifted and went a bit… you know…”

“Berserker?”

He snorts. “You saw him, he’s fine now”.

He can practically see her purse her lips, like mom used to do when he did something reckless.

“You know mom would have helped him”, he whispers.

“That’s below the belt, Tim. Mentioning her-”.

“But I’m right. You know I am. She would have never abandoned him”.

She sighs and promises to check up on him and his ‘guest’ regularly. “Just be careful, ok?”

 

\- - - - -

 

The rest of the day passes way too slowly for Tim.

He probably should have called in sick after all and stayed at home with the bear.

He’s worried. He wonders what he’s doing.

Before leaving for work in a hurry _I’ll finish taking care of the mess tonight_ he showed him around the house, pointing out fridge and pantry (“for when you are hungry”), how to use Netflix (golden boy seemed transfixed by the tv)…

He still wishes he could be at home instead.

_At least it’s only a couple days before the weekend._

Early afternoon he gets a message by Max, the handyman that went to replace the back door. (“You should have warned me you had the bear at home, man”. O _h shit_ , thinks Tim, “Everything fine with Dan? I forgot you have a bear as a collegue” _._ “Yeah, he ignored us, kept chilling in front of the tv all day. BTW Dude’s big”. _Yeah, thanks for noticing_ ).

When he can’t take it anymore, he gets up and leaves. He’ll work from home if necessary. He has to go see the bear.

 

~

 

He finds him on the sofa, watching tv. He notices he has straightened the living room and the kitchen. The broken stuff is piled in a cardboard box in a corner.

“I’ll pay for that. And the stools. And the door”, he says when he notices him looking. “Truly sorry”, he exhales.

Tim is happy to notice the bear is talking more clearly, although slowly, but all of a sudden he feels tired. Very tired. The whole day was a mess and this choppy conversation is just plain draining.

“Wanna go for a walk?”, he asks. “It would do you good. You’ve been cooped inside all day”.

“Nah, thanks. I’m good”, bear says, resuming the tv watching.

Tim goes to the kitchen, opens the back door. Glances at the bear, shakes his head, sheds his clothes and runs.

 

\- - - - -

 

“Do you remember what happened last night?”, he asks him later, as they are eating dinner. _Outside, on the back porch. Better not take any chances.  
_Golden boy shrugs his shoulders.

“I trashed the place, I suppose. I don’t know why I would want to do that. I’m sorry, Tim. I really am”.

“Please, stop it. I know you don’t feel well and I just want you to feel safe, ok?”, he tries to explain.

“So… if you start to feel itchy or anxious or… I don’t know… like you can’t breathe well, just open the door and go outside. It will help and if you shift you won’t damage anything but above all you won’t hurt yourself, ok?”  
The bear blinks at him.

“Shift? What do you mean with ‘if you shift’?”  
Tim feels all air leave his lungs. He looks at golden boy. He is being serious, he notices.

_This is bad. Very bad._

He shivers - opens his mouth to speak then closes it. He decides to thread lightly. Very lightly.  
“Do you remember anything of the night we first met?”

Tim hopes the bear feels well enough for this conversation. It’s not like it can be avoided for much longer.  
“I remember the city, cars honking, trash smell, so many sounds. Music. I follow the music and come to a bar”.

“There’s men dancing, jumping. Someone gives me a glass of something, I’m thirsty, I drink. The guy’s talking to me, I don’t understand what he says. I feel dizzy, I need air”.

“He follows me, tries to kiss me. I don’t feel well. I push him away. Some men approach us, they scream something. The guy runs back inside”.

He swallows, visibly upset.

“I feel their anger, I try to go away. They push me. I push back. I turn and run. I hear an engine following me. I run as fast as I can. I hear them behind me. I don’t know for how long. Then something crashes into me-”  
_That would be my car_ , Tim thinks.  
“I try to hide but they are still chasing me, only now it’s not them, it’s you. And I hit you and...”  
Tim sighs.

That’s not good. Not good at all. Not once golden boy has mentioned shifting or anything remotely shifter-related.  
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was trying to rescue you”.  
“I know that now”.  
“You should have felt the difference in my intentions. You should be able to do that”.  
The bear looks at him, uncomprehending.  
“Between your fight with those men and our meeting, at some point, you shifted. You turned into your animal. A bear. That’s what you are. A bear shifter”.  
Golden boy tilts his head and snorts.

“You people here are constantly talking in metaphors. It’s fascinating, but a bit disturbing. Are you a cult or something?”, he says.

Tim perceives confusion and distrust.  
“Talking in metaphors?”  
“A metaphor is a figure of speech that-”  
“I know very well what a metaphor is, thanks”.  
“I didn’t mean to imply-”

Tim rubs his face. _Why are we even talking about this?_

“Ok, first things first. You need a name. I cannot talk to you without knowing how to call you and I cannot call you bear or John Doe”.

_Or golden boy_ , he thinks. “So, choose one that you like.

“A name?”

“Yes. Just until you get better and recover your memories. Something easy, you know, just to have something that helps you interact with people”.

He seems to think it through. “I like Doug. Do you think it might be my real name?”

“Well, we don’t know yet but… ok for now”, Tim nods. “Come with me, Doug”.

Golden boy follows him quietly and Tim wonders if this meekness is his true nature.

Something suggests him that maybe Doug’s been sad and scared all day because he expects harsh punishment for his behaviour.

_I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all_ , Tim thinks.

They start walking towards the hill.

It gets steep after a while and the exercise feels so good - being outside, lungs expanding, heart beating faster. _Yeah. Nature is great medicine._

Also, Tim knows that he has to talk with the bear and seeing how fragile he is at the moment, it’s way better if they are alone and away from the nearest houses.

As they get to the top and Doug sees the lake, he smiles. “It’s beautiful here”.

“Yes, it is”, Tim acknowledges, hoping golden boy doesn’t notice that he’s looking at him and not at the lush surroundings.

They sit on a tree stump and he starts talking.

“Remember when we met at the hospital? You were tied to the bed-”

Doug shivers at the memory and nods.

“I came to visit you and you were scared and angry for being tied and I wanted to show you that you could relax. That I wasn’t a hunter. Do you remember what I did?”

He shakes his head.

_He’s lying_ , Tim notices.

“I was drugged. They told me so at the hospital. What I saw-”

“What did I do?, Doug?”, he asks quietly, not wanting to spook him. “I took my hospital gown off and-”

“No. Nonononono”.

Tim sighs and strips. Doug’s eyes are everywhere but on him.

“Look at me, please. You know I wouldn’t hurt you. Ever. I know you can feel that”.

_Somewhere inside you, you must feel that._

Doug looks transfixed as Tim shifts gracefully into his wolf.

Mouth opening and closing like a fish struggling out of water, golden boy starts to run downhill towards the lake.

He stumbles halfway and when he stands again he’s a big mass of blonde fur struggling to shed his tracksuit.

_Silly bear,_ the wolf thinks as he starts to chase him.

As he nears the lake, the bear has managed to blindly knock himself against a sharp rock (grey cotton shreds are binding his neck and left shoulder).

Tim shifts back and approaches him carefully. He tugs at the offending remains and frees the mass of golden fur.

“Doug, calm down. It’s me, Timmy. Your friend. Look at me”.

The bear is panting and eyeing him suspiciously, so he decides to sit, close his eyes and just breathe.

_Hope he won’t rip my throat right now. What a stupid way to go that would be_.

After a while, he feels the bear’s breathing become calmer and he dares to look at him.

He’s sitting, big front paws hugging the hind ones, like that silly meme he saw once of a bear doing yoga ( _Yogi Bear? No sir, I’m yoga bear_ ).

He shakes his head, amused, and chuckles. “Will you follow me to the water, Doug?

He stands and enters the lake, the bear follows him from a distance, sniffing around.

“Look at you. Look at your reflection in the water”, he says calmly.

Doug looks, his nostrils flare and a ragged cry comes out of his mouth, paws hitting the surface quickly as to erase what he’s seeing. The reflection blurs.

“Shh, shh, it’s ok. It’s what you are. A bear. No need to be afraid. It’s beautiful. You are beautiful”.

Suddenly, a very wet, very naked human Doug _gorgeous, so gorgeous_ looks at him, shivering.

“Fuckfuckfuck. It’s not real. It cannot be real. The fuck is this? New episode of True Blood?”, he croaks.

“True Blood? How long ago did you stop watching tv?”

“What? Who cares!”, Doug shouts in disbelief. “This cannot be true!”

“This is Arcadia”, Tim grins. “Welcome to the pack”.

 

\- - - - -

 

They slowly walk back home.

Tim wonders for the nth time what the hell happened to the bear. Something has gone deeply wrong.

One thing is not knowing how to react to an Alpha - and that’s already dangerous as fuck - but not knowing you are a shifter? Oh, man, that’s a totally different level of fucked up.

But he will solve the puzzle and help the bear. Oh, he will.

Doug is just too sweet and hot and lost. Tim doesn’t care what happened to him - he will bring the bear back from whatever nightmare he is stuck in.

He has some time to transform him into a functional member of society. If he doesn’t succed, he shudders, there might be someone who will want him killed – to protect the pack.

He won’t allow that.

 

~

 

Doug is way too quiet as they enter the living room, but Tim just knows what he needs.

_Basics. Let’s start with the basics._

After they are dressed, he looks around, opens some drawers.

“Here it is”, he says. “Sit down. Believe me, it’s better if you sit”.

He inserts the dvd in the player and presses play.

Doug lowers himslef stiffly on the sofa, back straight and shaky hands, still unsure of the whole thing. Tim feels disbelief, confusion, fear, curiosity - his many emotions running wild.

_He probably thinks he’s hallucinating, still under the effect of drugs._

“Just watch this”, he says, patting his knee. “It will help you. After, we can talk some more”.

A video starts.

The editing is well done, clearly by a professional, Doug thinks.

He sees the Alpha, as they call him in Arcadia. _Why can’t they just call him the mayor?!_

The older man is on a podium, microphone in front of him, grinning ear to ear. A group of smiling kids and proud-looking adults are gathered in a big room.

_A school._ Doug smiles, he likes this setting.

After some tapping on the mic, the Alpha starts talking.

“Tonight is a happy night for our community”, he smiles to the crowd. “The First Change!”

Clapping and whooping from the audience.

“We are here”, continues the Alpha, “to celebrate our children becoming young women and men. Tonight!”

Doug turns to look at Tim, who is watching intently at the screen, a happy smile on his lips.

“Oh, you’ll see!”, Tim whispers.

People are moving. The adults form a big circle at the perimeter of the room, the kids - they look like they may be 12/13 years old - are in the middle, shoulders to shoulders forming a smaller circle of their own facing the adults.

“From the Goddess we come.

To the Goddess we go.

May her blessings be many”.

Howls and cries erupt in the room.

“Moon to moon, we shift and change.

We hunt, we rest.

We love, we breed.

We live, we die”.

Kids and parents together are reciting what feels like a prayer. One Doug is sure has never heard before.

At his side, he hears Tim whispering softly the words. “Blessed be”, says the Alpha.

“Blessed be”, answers the audience.

Soon the boys and girls start undressing. The parents take out their smartphones and start filming.

Armie feels unconfortable - he doesn’t like the idea of adults filming naked tweens’ bodies. Ok, it’s their parents and everyone looks happy and not self conscious at all and it’s all quite wholesome. But still… it doesn’t seem right.

Tim shakes his head. He can feel the bear’s disconfort, but doesn’t understand it. _What’s the problem with bodies and nudity? We are born naked, it’s only Nature! It's just a human social construct that determines what parts of the body can be exposed to public view and which cannot._

“Can you spot me, Doug?”, he asks.

Golden boy forces himself to look better at the kids. And sure there it is Tim, side by side with a blonde girl.

“That’s Saoirse, my best friend”, he points out.

They are stark naked and giggling. He kisses her temple and she elbows him in the ribs.

“When was that?”

“12 years ago”, he answers. “Now look”.

Doug turns his head to the screen and gasps.

Saoirse’s naked frame is shaking violently, until she jumps and lands on all four, her body covered in yellow fur, jade eyes glistening. _A puma! She’s a fucking puma._

Besides her, Tim crouches to the ground, body shaking and turning before his eyes into a wolf. Dark fur, yellow-green eyes, he growls.

The puma hits him with her paw on his head. They start hissing and jumping, snarling at each other, but you can see it’s all pretend play.

All around them, howls and hisses and whimpers. And laughs and cheering from the adults.

Bodies elongate and shift into cougar, wolf, bear, linx, jackal, _wait is that a hyena?_

It’s like a zoo has opened its cages and all animals have started frolicking around, sniffing each other and mock-fighting for dominance.

The kids are playing and enjoying themselves.

The adults seem very pleased.

Alpha roars proudly.

_Wait, what? Was that a lion’s roar?_

Doug swallows and feels that his throat is way too dry. Tim hands him a can of Coke, but his hands are shaking too much, so Tim opens it for him.

He cannot believe his eyes and yet...

This is no movie. This is not CGI, the movements are too organic, too fluid.

It is real.

He knows it, no, he feels it in his bones, but still cannot grasp what’s going on.

Some of the animals are being hugged and scratched behing their ears by humans.

_Their parents, those are their parents._

Some are taking selfies with the Alpha. He notices the proud shoulder bumps of the men and the happy tears of the women.

Mothers, fathers and children. Humans and animals. All together. A family. A pack.

The video ends.

Doug turns to look at Tim.

“This is just-”, he croaks. “How-?”

“If they discover I showed you this”, Tim whispers, “I am in big trouble”.

“You see… This is the most sacred moment of a shifter’s life. If you were to steal this dvd and out us to the world-”

Doug notices Tim biting his lips, hands nervously clasping and unclasping.

He’s afraid, he can feel that. He should say something, assure him that he will keep the secret but he has no words.

Something in his chest is fighting to come out.

A sense of longing for something he doesn’t understand yet, but that resonates so much. Quiet tears start falling on his cheeks.

“It’s ok”, Tim says. “This is what you are. This is where you belong”.

Doug lowers his forehead till it’s touching Tim’s. He cups his delicate jaw in his hands.

“I will keep your secret. Arcadia’s secret. I promise. I won’t tell anybody. Ever”.

Tim smiles softly and nods.

The day has been shitty, but they have made progress.

_We can do it_ , Tim thinks. _Yes, we can._


	6. Of lattes and stuff...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Doug’ needs a haircut and new clothes to start his life in Arcadia. Tim helps him out, but something ends up troubling him.  
> Things start to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see. Sorry guys.  
> If you are still here… Hi! and Thank you!
> 
> As I’m a bit stumped with my Beast fic - I mean, I have all the chapters planned but they are not behaving as I wish - I decided to visit my boys in Arcadia (since they are constantly screaming at the back of my brain).  
> Please know that as soon as I’m done with my other fic, I’ll devote my energies to this one.  
> Truly hope someone is still interested…

 

“Pretty redhead in a floral dress?”

_Pretty?!_

Tim wants to growl but instead opts for answering. “She’s a fox”.

“Distinguished black man, light grey suit?”

“Wolf”.

“Uhm... Let’s see… Elderly woman with the straw hat? Over there”, Doug points, “looks like Ruth Bader Ginsburg?”

Tim sniffs. “Cougar”.

“Hey, that’s kinky, man”.

“Shut up”, he chuckles and elbows golden boy. “Bet she could still slit your throat if you got close enough”.

“Come on, Tim! She’s using a walker?!”

At that moment, the woman turns towards them and grins, showing white, pointy teeth.

“Fuck”, Doug startles and takes a step back. “Think she heard us?”

“Probably”, he snorts.

“You people are so weird”.

“Us people? You are one of us, yogi bear! Don’t you forget that.”

“I still can’t wrap my head around it, you know”.

Golden boy shifts from one foot to the other – it’s not like one needs Tim’s sharp senses to notice he’s nervous.

That Doug wasn’t aware of his shifter status puzzles the wolf, who doesn’t really know how to help.

“You are holding up way better than I thought, everything considered”, he offers, wishing he could reassure the bear.

“But I know nothing of being a shifter”, he huffs, frustrated. “I cannot even recognize smells like you do…”

“Just because you are not fully recovered yet”, Tim shrugs. “We’ll have to check with Iris and the doctors-”

“I hate hospitals”, Doug shivers.

“Yeah, I can tell”, Tim nods, feeling his discomfort. “They just wanna help, though. We need to find out what happened to you”.

“I know”, he sighs, picking at a loose thread at the bottom of his t-shirt. “It’s just that-”

“Come in boys, it’s your turn”, Jack grins. “What can I do for you?”

Tim shakes the barber’s hand. “This is my friend Doug, he’s new in town”.

“The bear, uh? He’s big!”

Tim rolls his eyes. _Of course he knows._

“Let’s see, Doug. Are you looking for a light trim or a complete restyling?”, the older man asks.

Golden boy looks at Tim like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I, uhm”, he swallows. “What do you think?”

“I’d say let’s see what’s hiding under this wild beard and hair situation”, Tim suggests. “Go for a clean slate”.

“Ok, let’s do it. It’s probably the best choice as I start looking for jobs”.

Tim quirks his eyebrow.

They already had this conversation - after the video and the longest talk ever about shifters and shifting history and such, Doug had thanked Tim for basically saving his life and being a friend to him, a complete stranger.

“I’ll look for a job, I don’t care which kind. I won’t be lazying around your home while you work. I want to repay you for everything”.

Tim had tried to object, saying he was still recovering from who-knows-what, but Doug had been adamant. “I can start by mowing a lawn or something”.

When Tim looks at him, a smiling Jack is tilting golden boy’s chin to the left and to the right. “When I’m done with you, the ladies will go crazy. Or… do you bat for the other team as well?”

Tim sighs and grabs a magazine from the rack.

Doug is not pissed though, just shrugs and mutters a “Who knows?” that effectively shuts Jack up.

_That’ll teach you, man._

As the air fills with the classic smell of cologne and talc, Tim sits on the sofa waiting for the barber to work his magic and skims through the copy of ‘Inked’ in his hands.

Although a few shifters he knows have tattoos, he has never thought about getting one himself. He appreciates the artistry and sorta wishes he had something in his life he wished to pay such a permanent tribute to.

Steve has an intricate tribal design on his heart, in honor of his ancestors, that somehow stays put even as he shifts.

Nick has one on his calf, a fox - that’s obviously Liz to those who know her well.

Tim has listened to a few people making fun of him, as if his tattoo is a cheap substitute for the deep bonding two shifters can have and him and his wife won’t, because he’s just human. But Tim knows better and is in awe of the love the couple share.

Before he gets too sappy, _get a grip Tim_ , he’s distracted by his phone. Ansel has posted a pic of seagulls flying on a beach _the fuck?_ He feels compelled to like it (the nurse thing has taken its toll on his friend, after all).

Pauline is still sharing stories from Round Top about the great treasures she has found “come next week for the best Reliques experience ever”, she’s telling her customers. This gives him an idea, maybe he could ask her to-

“How do I look?”

Tim turns and his phone almost crashes on the floor - he catches it just in time with clammy hands.

_Fuck._

He swallows with some difficulty, upper lip sweating, heart beating fast.

_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck._

“Oh, he finds you good-looking enough”, Jack smirks.

Some customers have the decency to turn away their gaze, others chuckle. An older dude openly glares, and Tim wants to snap at him.

 _Hope I’m not drooling_ , he thinks, as he feels himself harden.

Jack laughs and he tries his best to gain some sort of composure.

Doug is looking at him expectantly. “So?”

“You clean up well”, he croaks.

Golden boy smiles shily. “Cool”.

He’s young, Tim notices, way younger than he thought. Older than him, but still not as old as he first guessed him to be.

_He’s so fucking handsome._

The clear blue eyes pop now that his hair is short and doesn’t cover his entire face.

His plump lips… _slightly chapped_ , Tim notices – _fuck_ , he has to will his tongue to not come out and lick them from bottom to top - _oh, his lips are gorgeous._

He quickly shoves his hand in his pocket, before it wanders off and ends up landing on golden boy’s cheek - _how coarse will his beard be when it starts growing back? Bet it would burn my skin so good…_

Tim clears his throat. “Let’s go. It’s clothes shopping now”.

“Wait, shouldn’t we be paying-?”

“Nope. Jack still owes me for the logo design of this fine establishment”, he grins.

“Find a room”, the barber snorts.

Tim flips him the bird, but it’s ok. Jack is one of the good ones - for a while he had dated his mom, but then she got sick and-

He sighs and turns to look at Doug, who smiles at him, and his dimples are so much more evident now and…

_I need coffee, lots of it. And a wank or two, sooner than later._

 

**************

 

After the shopping - _an experience akin to wrangling a pack of hyenas_ , Tim thinks, with him grabbing clothes for Doug to try, Doug refusing almost everything at a glance saying ‘it’s too expensive’, Tim noticing that practically everything Doug tries on looks good on him _of course, he’s like a demi-god, duh_ , Tim trying to convince him to buy more than just a pair of jeans and a couple t-shirts, Doug resisting, Tim using the job-search card ‘you’ll have to have at least two shirts, yeah, pick the white and that light blue, the billowy one, and a dark blue sweater, it’s the bare minimum’ - Tim is exahusted.

He decides to stop at ‘Thanks a latte’ and see which kind of hot drink Doug will be.

According to a very scientific test he and Saoirse found on Twitter once, if you choose an Americano you have your shit together. Frappuccino drinker? You are adventurous and spontaneous, very easy to be around.

“Yup, that’s me”, Tim had nodded while Saoirse snorted.

“Willy-nilly, purposeless, no shit together, you mean?”

“Fuck you, Miss Iced Coffee! ‘Assertive and outspoken’ my ass, you are just a pushy brat”.

That had resulted in a hissing-and-growling match, ending with them dissolving into fits of laughter - happy tears and snot on their sleeves.

Of course he knows the thing is complete bullshit, but still…

Tim wonders if Doug will be a sophisticated, zen Green Tea drinker ‘subtly check if they have an actual pulse’ the test said, or a forever-young Fruit Smoothie health nut _ok, as long as he’s still up for fun_ , Tim muses.

He secretly hopes for a cuddly and affectionate Cocoa type, _maybe with a dash of cayenne_ for, you know, added hotness.

He’s so deep in thought that he doesn’t notice. And when he does... _Urgh_.

As soon as they enter the café and Doug sees Liz, he starts grinning from ear to ear. And when she comes to take their order, he is practically sniffing around like a hunting dog.

_Fuck._

Tim lets his head fall on the formica top with a thud and proceeds to hit the table softly and repeatedly. _Of course_ , he thinks, _just my luck_.

Liz chuckles. “You ok, Timmy?”

He raises his thumb and huffs. “I’m an idiot, but yeah. The usual, please”.

“And for your friend?”

“I’m Doug”, he says, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you”.

Tim tilts his head and sees Nick wiping the counter with fury. _Great, if Nick noticed, it’s not my overreacting imagination. Fuck._

“Hi, I’m Liz. What can I bring you?”

“Uhm…” Doug skims the menu, reading the ingredients with utmost attention, ends up ordering a chai latte.

 _What?_ Tim tries to remember something about the chai species. ‘Sensible people. A curious human that loves cozy things”.

Well, Doug sure looks like he wishes to get cozy with dear Liz of all people.

_Grr…_

Tim bangs his head on the table again, for good measure. _Grow up_ , he hisses to himself.

As he forces a smile on his lips and turns towards golden boy, he sees Harper approaching them, holding markers and a sheet of paper, with a curious look towards Doug.

“Hi”, she whispers.

Tim waves at her - he isn’t good with children. Not that he hates them, they are just so alien and he worries he will break them or something. Luckily Ford is not around - he is so tiny, just starting to walk.

His mouth goes slack as he sees Harper extending her arms and Doug hoisting her on his lap with a huge smile.

Soon they are chatting away – he drawing a fish, then a tree and a house per her orders, she telling him everything about ballet and her mom being a fox and her dad a human and ‘what are you?’

Doug patiently answers all her questions to the best of his abilities.

“I’m a bear”.

“The grass is green because of a pigment called chlorophyll”.

“Why do flies think that gross stuff smells good? Sorry, I have no idea”.

Tim’s mouth hangs open. He doesn’t even know why he is in shock - _of course golden boy is a kids’ whisperer. Why wouldn’t he be?_ _Guy’s fucking perfect!_

As he looks around, though, Tim notices not everyone seems as smitten as Harper (or himself) with the newcomer.

Custumers’ hard gazes are assessing the scene. All eyes are on Liz, waiting for her to have a reaction of some sorts at the stranger with her daughter.

Nick is gripping the counter and Liz, coming up with their hot drinks, looks at Doug intently.

After a while, she smiles and sits at their table asking “We are looking for a babysitter, would you be interested?”

All tension seems to melt away from the place.

“I don’t know”, Doug says, twisting the cap on the glitter glue. “I mean, thanks for the offer, I appreciate it, but… I’ve been sick and I wouldn’t want to… Tim?”

He looks at golden boy and sees the worry in his eyes, Liz must feel it as well. He’s probably afraid of not being well enough to be entrusted with small children.

The fox pats his hand gently. “You think about it. No rush”.

She stands up and goes to hug Nick, who is stiff in her arms. She seems unconcerned and turns, winks at Tim.

He shakes his head, not really understanding what’s going on, drives Doug home - he wants to repaint the kitchen areas he trashed in his haze - and goes straight to Saoirse’s gallery.

He feels like his brain is going to explode, just too much to process - he needs his bestie. _Asap_.

She’s perched on a ladder, surrounded by blue painter's tape, painting a big square of dark grey on the back wall - she smiles as soon as she sees him.

“The bubblegum pink mobile will pop on the dark backgr-”

As soon as she sees his expression, Sersh stops talking, jumps down and grabs his arms.

“What happened, Timmo? What’s wrong?”

“He’s a chai latte! Can you imagine? What the fuck does that even mean? A fucking chai!”

“Uh? What-?”

“And he likes Liz! And I’m an idiot and Nick will kill him and I suck as a mentor, because I like him, a lot, and I should just help him but I’m fucked and-”

“Whoa, Tim. Calm down, you make no sense whatsoever!”

He groans and rubs his face as he tells her everything that’s happened that morning.

At the end, she just plain laughs at him.

“Anybody here?”, she knocks on his forehead, “You shouldn’t have banged your head on the table, you are already stupid as is!”

“Gee thanks!”, he hisses. “I come to you for help and-”

“Tim, chill, ok? I don’t think it is what you think it is. Like, at all”.

“Uh?”

“I don’t know your bear well - by the way when are you going to properly introduce us? I want to meet this guy and sniff him properly. I trust my instincts to tell me if I have to kick his butt, and-”

“Sersh, focus!”

“Ok, what I mean is he doesn’t seem like a poker-face guy, his emotions are allover the place according to my dad, he’s so readable…

“Yeah, I noticed”, he groans. “You should have seen how he looked at her. Even Nick was furious, but Liz was laughing-”

“I bet she was”, she giggles. “Positive she’s being fucked over a counter right now”.

“What are you talking about?”, he yells, exasperated.

“She’s breastfeeding, Tim! Every male shifter within a five mile radius would find her sweet-smelling!”

He blinks, open-mouthed.

“Come on. I get that you are not into girls much, but this has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It’s Shifter Biology 101!”

“She always smells good, like vanilla and cinnamon…”

“Yup”, she says. “Breastfeeding hormones, sugar and spice and everything nice, right?”

“I thought it was the bakery! You mean-”

“Any unmated male would find her”, she finger quotes, “interesting right now. They don’t show it, at least here in Arcadia, because they are socially instructed to get a grip and not furiously sniff at her. Your bear is a bit rusty in shifter social customs. That’s all”.

“He had no idea, Sersh”, he blurts out. “Until last night, he thought he was human!”

“What?”, his friend is horrified. “But… that’s not possible. How-?”.

“I’m starting to believe something has gone horribly wrong here”.

“You have to tell my father, Tim. This is big”.

“I know, I know. I just wanted to take things easy with him and… wait a minute, why would Liz laugh at that?”

“Seriously? Shouldn’t we focus on what is going on with your bear?”, she sighs but continues.

“She probably knew from the start what was happening. Bet a few men have behaved like kids in a candy shop around her already. And I’m pretty sure that, if you hadn’t been too upset to notice, you would have seen your bear wasn’t hard or something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked him to babysit her kids”.

“He was just basking in comfort-providing hormones. Like eating a bowl of mac-and-cheese when it’s snowing outside”.

“Uhm… Maybe you are right. But what about the people staring like crazy at the scene?”

She shrugs. “He took Harper in his arms. You know how people here are protective of children, they probably wanted to make sure he was no threat”.

“A threat? Come on, Sersh!”

“Hey, everybody thinks he’s a bit, you know”, she twirls her index finger near her temple.

“He hasn’t got a screw loose! He’s just a bit lost”.

“Yeah, and would you leave him with a child?”

“Liz would!”

“Cool! That means he’s fine. And everyone will treat him accordingly from now on, you just see. Liz is one of the strongest women here. If she’s ok with him, he’s good to go”.

“So I should probably thank her?!”

Saoirse shrugs. “You already did, I guess, by bringing your bear there and making Nick jealous, LOL. You know how everybody basically complains that he’s so chill, never gets angry at anything, like he can’t truly fit in here because we shifters are a bit more… ‘intense’?”

“He probably got upset seeing that hunk of yours all over his wife and not knowing shit about the whole hormone thing…”

“Liz winked at me”, he nods.

“See!”

“Makes sense”, he admits. “So, I worried for nothing?”

“Actually…” Saoirse gets serious all of a sudden. “I don’t want to you to freak out or something but, you know, there may be a reason why he felt so confortable hanging with Harper.”

“Meaning?”

“Maybe he has a family of his own, Tim. It’s a possibility you have to consider”.

All air leaves his lungs. _Of course_ , he thinks. He knows nothing about Doug after all.

“Fuck. He’s probably married, wife and kids somewhere, waiting for him”.

His anguish is probably too evident, because Saoirse scrambles to tell him, “Maybe not, maybe he’s with a dude and-”

“And that would be helpful how?”, he groans.

“Ok, then. Maybe he’s a single dad!”

“You mean he has cubs somewhere? Waiting for him? All alone without their father?!”

The idea is horrifying and they both shiver.

“Maybe dying without their father?!”, he whimpers.

“No! Nononono, I’m sure not”, she babbles.

“Gotta run to Alpha. Now”.

Tim stands but feels faint. _Get a grip_ , he tells himself for the nth time.

He grabs his phone and runs to the car.

 

**************

 

At the meeting, Tim has their full attention.

Steve’s jaw is clenched tight as he listens to his tale then turns to seek Deputy Roberts.

Alpha is pissed that Chalamet _yes, he used his surname, no bueno_ showed Doug the video, but doesn’t seem like he wants to chew his bones, yet.

Jade and Ansel are nodding to each other, while Iris is sitting on a chair, back straight, deep in meditation.

“This is bad”, Roberts is the first to talk. “We thought he may be coming from a broken pack, hiding somewhere, not used to societal norms. But this is…”

“How can it even be possible?”, Cory asks. “His parents should have taught him everything”.

Just for once Tim is in agreement with the coyote. “This is sick”.

“He hasn’t been raised by his biological parents”, the Sheriff states. “That much is obvious”.

“But even if he were raised by humans, he would have shifted anyways”, Jade interjects. “Come puberty the process is inevitable”.

“Maybe he’s been living alone, as a bear all this time…”

“He looks like he’s in his late twenties. 15 years in the forest and he would have become a feral. He wouldn’t be able to shift back to human”.

Everyone is voicing opinions, except for Alpha and Iris.

“We have to look for him in the human database, then. Maybe the FBI-”

“No”. The shaman’s voice booms in the room. “We won’t do that. Something is very wrong and I cannot see things properly, no matter how hard I try to connect to the Source. We’ll have to find another way”.

They all nods.

“Maybe he has cubs”, Tim cries, “we have to…”

“It’s been days, Timothée. If what you fear is true, we cannot do anything for them, not anymore”, Alpha swallows. “It’s horrible, but we cannot put Arcadia at risk for the dead ones”.

Tim nods but his stomach cramps. He hurls its contents in the nearest wastebin.

Everyone looks ashen - they startle when they hear a knock at the door.

Nick is coming in with a huge box of, judging by the smell, chocolate-chip cupcakes. He has a huge, satisfied grin on his face.

The sweet, festive scent and his obvious mated happiness seem truly out of place.

“For this afternoon’s historical club meeting?”, he whispers, taking in the glum faces.

“Fuck, I forgot”, Alpha groans. “Please leave them there, Nick. Thank you”.

He starts to leave the room but decides to come back. “Can I help you with something, Alpha?”, Nick asks bowing his head.

“Of course you cannot”, Cory spits. “Why are you even asking!”

“Because there’s obviously something going on here and I wish to help”.

“You know nothing, you-”

“I’m as Arcadian as you”.

Cory snorts, “Yeah, sure”.

Tim isn’t sure why, but for once Nick doesn’t back down.

“Need to tell me something, Cory? Say it to my face”, he positively growls, stepping up to the coyote.

The cop hisses and shows his teeth. “Fuck off, human”.

“No. You fuck off!”, Nick shoves him in the chest. “I’m fucking tired of you sneering at me”.

A collective gasp travels through the room and Tim is ready to pounce and kick Cory’s ass - Goddess knows if he is sick already of that asshole - but Ansel pushes him aside.

Everyone is taking a step back, leaving Cory and Nick to face each other.

“This is ridiculous”, Tim cries. _The coyote will rip Nick apart. Why is Alpha calmly looking at the scene?_

Cory lets his fangs and claws elongate, his eyes shift to an amber color.

Nick just glares at him.

“Seriously? Do you think you can scare me like this?”

“Do you know who I am married to? Do you have any idea how she gets on her period?”, he snorts.

“Do you have any idea how she was when pregnant? When she craved lamb chops at three in the morning and made me drive two hours to get them from the ‘right butcher’ just to come back and have her gag at the sight and then blame me because she told me she wanted pork chops, non lamb chops, when in fact she had just changed her mind and then proceeded to destroy the bedroom in frustration?”

“Do you think you can scare me? ME?”, Nick barks. “Sitz!”,

Cory’s eyes almost bug out of his sockets and he grasps his stomach. After a while it’s clear that he’s laughing, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

Then Nick starts to laugh as well and they basically end up patting each other’s back.

“Sorry, man. You are a tough motherfucker”, Cory chortles. “Liz is... Well, she scares the crap out of me”.

Nick dabs at his eyes and everyone in the room exhales at the same time.

“Now, what is this ruckus all about?”, Alpha roars.

“This human is here to help”, Iris smiles. “The guides tell me so. Let him help”.

Jade brings Nick up to speed. And of course he has the solution - the shaman is never wrong about such things.

“My cousin Nate, he’s a P.I. and an ex-cop, I bet he could look into the matter easily”, he explains.

They all look at Iris, who smiles enigmatically and nods.

“Do you have a pic of Doug, that I can send him?”, he asks.

Tim has a few, taken this very morning, while they were shopping and Doug was making funny faces while trying on beanies.

He selects one where the bear is looking at him, a soft smile on his lips, and sends it to Nick.

“I met him and brought him home, but I know nothing of him and he seems kinda confused. I thought it was drugs, but days have passed”, Tim comes up with.

Nick nods. “I’m your friend and I’m worried so I decided to contact Nate”.

A plan starts to form between them.

“And why not the cops?” Jade asks. “Why not go directly to the police?”

“Because…” Tim thinks of a plausible excuse. “I like him, don’t want to get him in trouble”.

“Also, tiny town”, Ansel interjects. “Nosy meddlers everywhere. Hard enough being gay in such a small community without everyone knowing you are dating a crackhead”.

Tim huffs. Not that Doug is one, but if it works…

“Good”, Deputy Roberts says. “Thanks for your help Nick. Call us as soon as you know anything”.

“Will do”, he nods. “Alpha”, he bows and leaves.

Iris claps her hands.

“Everything’s going to be fine, I just feel it. Cory, come with me”, she says suddenly harsh. The cop gulps and follows her.

“Tim”, she turns before leaving the room, “stop worrying about children in danger”.

He nods and sighs. He has to show up at work eventually, but he’s already drained after the longest morning ever.

Alpha seems to understand what’s going on in his mind. “Go home”, he says. “I’ll call your boss, tell him you are working for me, to not expect you until Monday”.

“Thanks, Alpha”, he croaks.

“Why don’t we grab a bite”, Ansel suggests hugging his shoulder. “Jade, you coming?

“Sure, we’ll talk a bit more”.

As they leave, Tim wonders if they will be able to unravel the mystery that is golden boy.

He’s ready to move on from confusion and fear. And if he’s tired of that crap, he cannot even begin to imagine how Doug must feel.

 

Later that night, having decided to not tell his guest about the plan, Tim struggles to fall asleep.

He tosses and turns, sheets twisting under him. He guesses he could relax, since Iris has told him to, he trusts her power, but still…

He’s almost ready to give up and leave the bed to go for a run when a movement catches his eye.

The bear is at the door and he’s coming towards him.

 

 


	7. Of hard cocks and vintage furniture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Doug’ needs a job.  
> Pauline has one.  
> Oh, and Timmy is horny af.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kind comments! I’m so happy you are still here.  
> So much so that I had to write another chapter to not leave you hanging. That cliffhanger was a bit cruel ;-)
> 
> Kudos to those who will understand the fragrance reference and thanks to Barkingbard for the ‘chicken’ explanation!
> 
> As always not beta’ed – if you find something horribly wrong let me know in the comments.

 

Tim blinks as he takes in the bear at the door.

He keeps very still, wouldn’t want to spook him and have a repeat of the other night’s mayhem. Also, the tranquilizer gun is downstairs - not very helpful.

Shifting to wolf crosses his mind, but seeing how the whole thing is still new to Doug... maybe it’s not the greatest idea.

So he inhales and exhales slowly. And waits.

As the big, furry creature enters the bedroom and comes towards him, sniffing around, Tim slinks towards the edge of the bed. It’s not like he’s scared, why would he be, but he’s naked and doesn’t really want the bear’s muzzle to come a little too close to his junk.

_At least not in shifted form._

The plantigrade nears the bed and uses his front paws to hoist himself up. The particleboard creaks painfully under the sudden weight and quickly gives in when the bear’s hind legs are on the mattress as well.

With an almighty crack, the cheapo Ikea frame breaks - front legs first, immediately followed by the other two as the wobbly bear pads on the mattress.

Tim huffs as they land noisily on the floor. _Yay, my bed is now Japanese style,_ he groans.

The bear looks unperturbed as he sniffs the mattress and circles around a spot, before letting himself fall on the sheets - he then tucks himself into a hefty ball of fur.

Tim shakes his head; this was not how he imagined having Doug in his bed would look like. _At all._

He tries to shove him away, first with both hands, then with his shoulder. He pushes onto the coarse fur, but big blond doesn’t budge.

He tries to, at least, pry his pillow from under the huge body but has to give up; he stands to go sleep on the sofa when he notices light blue eyes staring at him.

The soft, sad gaze pins him there.

Tim sighs, crawls back in bed and curls into something resembling a sleeping position. His back will be shit tomorrow.

He has to grasp golden fur in order to not roll off the mattress, and wonders how on earth he’ll be able to sleep.

 

He drifts off within minutes.

_~ ~ ~_

 

Sunlight filters through the blinds as a content smile spreads on Tim’s lips. He burrows under the cozy blanket and sighs. _So warm._

The fragrance is delicious - pine and earth, sweet tobacco, a hint of musk. He doesn’t recall changing his fabric softener, must have been on Pauli’s suggestion. _So good._

He furrows his brows - thing is his belly is uncovered and that won’t do, so he pulls the blanket to cover himself better.

The blanket groans.

_Uh?_

He opens his eyes with some effort and stretches. The weighted blanket _when did I buy one?_ shifts with him, then plasters itself again to his back.

_Fuck._

His eyes fly open and he tries to turn, but a strong arm - definitely not a weighted blanket - keeps him in place.

He swallows, aware all of a sudden of the body behind him. A big, strong, hairy _naked_ human body curled around his own. With a raging hard-on pressing against his lower back.

_Fuckfuckfuck._

Tim whimpers and ponders the intricacy of the dilemma.

The right thing would be to wake Doug up.

The best thing would be to get fucked on a lazy Friday morning. _Gah._

How was that meme? Bad wolf, good wolf, who wins? The one you feed or something. _Yeah, daddy, feed me your big…_

His mind is in the gutter already, no way he’s gonna be able to be good. _Uff._

He decides to just lean into Doug’s strong grip - he will wake up soon enough and be mortified so... better to make the most of this fleeting moment. Carpe That Fucking Diem!

As soon as he exhales back in his arms, it’s like a switch turns on in the bear. He snuggles even closer, cock pressing to his crease. A moan escapes his lips that has Tim hard and leaking in no time.

He tries to keep still but it’s hard - pun totally intended - as Doug’s fingers grab his curls and tilt his head, lips graze his neck, teeth nibble the skin.

He shivers and when the other hand skims his stomach, index finger dipping in his bellybutton, he’s positively covered in goosebumps.

Tim moans and arches his back. The grip on his hair tightens, a low growl makes him arch his spine, throw back his head.

Doug rolls his hips and they both moan in unison. Kissable lips latch harder on his neck, _he will leave a bruise_ , Tim knows it, and he gets high at the thought.

He should say something, he knows he should, _be nice Tim, wake him up,_ but his senses are in overdrive - too long since getting laid and the moon is rising and golden boy is so fucking hot.

His skin is on fire, wishes Doug would sink hilt-deep in his ass and pound him through the mattress. And yes, he knows it would hurt, he’s just too gone to care.

The bear now slides a thick thigh between his and…

“Wha-?”, Doug’s raspy voice pierces through the haze and wakes them up.

Tim sighs as he feels golden boy stiffen and release him as if he’s scorching hot.

“Fuck!”, he croaks. “What? How?”

Tim makes a show of stretching and yawning as if awakening at that very moment. _An Academy award, that’s what I should receive_ , he thinks. “Hi”, he says tilting his head, “slept good?”

Doug gasps and goes beet red. He almost jumps off the bed, but notices his leaking hard-on. As he grabs the sheets to cover himself up, he uncovers Tim’s equally hard cock, chortles, throws the sheet back at him - it lands on his face - and resorts to press a pillow to his groin.

“I…. uhm… I…”

Tim looks at him and again debates whether to go ‘good wolf’ or ‘bad wolf’ route.

“Do you remember last night?”, he asks quietly.

Doug shakes his head.

“You shifted and came here in bear form. Must have shifted back in your sleep”.

Golden boy seems uncertain, twirls the corner of the pillow in his lap. Tim thinks that such fine pillow is now is favorite in the whole world and he will have to sniff it properly as soon as Doug leaves his bed.

“Did we-?”, he whispers, “I mean… you and me… did we-?” Golden boy blushes even more, splotches of red going from throat to ears.

“What? No! You would remember that”, he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Fuck”, the bear groans, rubbing his face.

Tim chuckles and briefly considers telling him they played a game of ‘gay chicken’ just to see how Doug would react. Would he be up for THAT?! His brain is spinning at the idea.

The poor boy is so embarassed though, looking everywhere except at him, that he decides to have mercy. More or less.

 _Time to up the voltage_ , he thinks as he stands, cock still half-hard. “Care to heat up the iron? I think it’s a waffle kinda morning”.

Yup, the bear looks at his ass, he notices, as he proudly walks to the bathroom.

Chalamet 1 - Vanilla-smelling Liz 0

 

After an awkward(ish) breakfast and a quick clean-up, Tim decides it’s the perfect time to visit Pauline and ask for her help.

As they drive to the shop, Doug sighs and bangs his head on the glove comparment.

Tim snorts. Glad _I’m not the only one to behave like a fool._

“I broke your bed”.

“Yup”.

“Sorry”.

“Hey, no biggie. It was just a cheap stand-in. Haven’t found the perfect bed yet”.

“You mean like the stools?!”, Doug groans.

“Well…”

Another bang on the hard plastic.

“Stop it!”, he laughs. “You are going to end up breaking that as well”.

Doug’s head shuts up. “Sorry, fuck, I-”

“Hey, calm down, I’m just messing with you”.

“I molested you in your sleep”, he croaks, the acrid stench of guilt and shame filling the car.

“What? No, no you didn’t. A little morning wood never hurt anybody”, Tim chokes. _I wished you had done way more_ , he thinks but cannot say. “Seriously, Doug, we are pack animals. At least we wolves are. Sleeping together is healthy and sensible. Please don’t feel bad. It’s fine. More than fine”.

Actually nope, that’s bullshit, because one thing is sharing a shelter during a snowstorm, another having a hard cock press on your ass. Not one male shifter Tim knows would be ok with that!

But golden boy doesn’t know and why should he make him feel worse than he already does?

“You sure? We ok?”, Doug asks shily.

“We ok”, he smiles, patting his shoulder.

Best thing about this embarassing morning? Not once has Tim felt the slightest bad vibe coming from Doug.

Embarassment, yes, fear of Tim’s reaction, why not, worry of having overstepped, of course - but not loathing or dread or something like that, caused by having been so intimate with a guy.

_Today's shaping up to be a great day._

****

When they arrive at Reliques, a big truck is unloading vintage furniture and Pauline is shouting on the phone.

“Tuesday, they were meant to arrive on Tuesday!”, she yells exasperated. “No, they are here now and I don’t have my man ready. What? How should I-? Fuck you, Clarisse, I’m not paying you the early delivery!”

She hangs and spots them parking.

“Timo! You are here, great! I need your help with that stuff”, she points while jumping up and down.

“I can do it”, Doug interjects. “Seems a bit heavy for Tim”.

“Hey, wait a minute! I’m totally capable of-” _Shit, Tim. That’s what you wanted, work for Doug, right?_

“Sorry sis, he’s right. I forgot I pulled a muscle”, he starts limping towards her.

She raises an eyebrow, sniffs at him, rolls her eyes and turns to the bear. “Doug right? Can you help? I’ll pay you obviously. Brent is on holiday and will come back on Tuesday so...”

“Sure”, he grins. “Where do you want me to put that stuff?”

“Near the”-

“Hey”, she yells, “gotta check my list. No leaving before that!” She runs towards the truck and almost throws herself under it. “Don’t move, assholes”, she glares as she proceeds to take inventory of the furniture and accessories.

Tim is amused and turns to look at Doug who is already busy stacking a few chests, from larger to smaller, at the side of the shop.

Golden boy dabs at his forehead with his arms, sniffs at his armpits and proceeds to take off his T-shirt, shake it and hang it on a nearby branch.

Tim’s mouth snaps open. _Fuck._

His gaze follows a rivulet of sweat dripping from throat to chest, where it gets stuck into coarse blonde hair.

Abs ripple as Doug rolls his shoulders and bends to grab a heavy cast iron urn - probably Victorian his brain provides - _brain? what the fuck are you focusing on? look at the male specimen in front of you, you dumb idiot!_

His gaze goes to the happy trail of hair that dips into his jeans, _oh my,_ jeans that hug that delicious ass…

“He sure cleans up well”, Pauline says, suddenly at his side. “Your bear is-”

“He’s not my bear”, he croaks.

“Well, lucky me”, she says, winking at him, fingers spread to fan herself. “He’s so yummy!”

They both tilt their heads, following Doug’s every movement as he works and Pauli literally whines when he rubs sweat from his throat.

“Ok, I still don’t know if I can trust the man, but I have to admit… he’s so hot AF!”

“Stop ogling my bear”, he pouts.

“Oh, is he yours now?”

“You are impossible”, he hisses. “Get laid!”

“Well, I sure hope so!”

He raises his arms in desperation, turns and sees a jogging woman crash against a lamppost on the other side of the road.

Golden boy 1 - Arcadia 0

He swears he sees a couple of teens snap pics on their phone. He positively growls at the girls and they run away giggling.

_The fuck?!_

Tim feels like there’s horny females everywhere, all of them suddenly very interested in Doug. He’s pissed and yet… all of a sudden an ear-to-ear grin starts to bloom on his face.

_Yes, oh yes._

“What is it, Timo? Is it a stroke? A paresis?”, his obnoxious sis inquires pinching his side.

“Nope”, he grins so wide it almost hurts.

 _That great hairy chest, those strong biceps and lips, yes, those fucking hot lips, were on me this morning!_ , he wants to shout to the world.

Ok, the situation was a bit muddled but still. _His cock was almost up my..._. He gets half-hard at the memory.

“Eeeww, TimmyTim, please! I cannot bleach my nostrils!”, Pauline groans.

His grin gets so big he’s pretty sure it can be seen from the moon.

_Such a great day indeed._

“Hey, is your brother ok?”, Doug asks wiping his hands, while Tim strides through the lot, crazy smile showing his gums. “He looks... dazed”.

“Him, ok? Oh, he never really was. Fell from the highchair one time too many, if you ask me. I told mom many times to get him tested but...”

With a growl, Tim starts to chase Pauline, while an amused Doug shakes his head.

 

Later, after Pauline has inspected Doug’s work and found it done to her exacting standards, she goes into thoughtful mode.

She sends them to grab burgers for lunch and starts sketching on a huge pad. They shrug and do as ordered, find her smiling wide when they return.

As they eat, she asks Doug if he would be willing to work for her for a full week, from dawn till dusk.

“I’ve been planning to renovate for quite some time and I bought too much stuff at this year’s Round Top Antiques Week anyways”.

“Sooo… instead of doing my usual ‘come and grab the goddies event’ next Thursday, I thought I could cull some old stuff, repaint and reshuffle my stock, arrange things differently”.

“People will be expecting the habitual spring party, but I could have the shop fully renovated, instead. What do you think? Would you be willing to work for me? Brent will be here on Tuesday to help with the heavy lifting and-”

“I’m in”, Doug says enthusiastically. “It’s the least I can do seeing how your brother-”

“None of that. You’ll be working for me, I’ll pay you and then you’ll do what you wish with that money”.

Doug chuckles and looks at Tim, who rolls his eyes. “See, my sister is so fucking bossy!”

“I’ll need a way to come and go from here”, he says. “A bike, maybe? Do you know where I can find one?”

“You can use mine”, Tim nods. “It’s collecting dust in the garage”.

Doug and Pauline toast to their upcoming project and the girl shows him around.

“This is the main floor, where all the merchandise is. As you can see, we have a florist’s corner – we sell bouquets of flowers and plants, succulents are all the rage right now”.

“Speaking of which”, Tim interjects, “I need you to send Jade a bouquet from me”.

“Flowers to Jade? Ansel will get mad”, she chuckles.

“Ansel? Why would he-?”

“Oh, TimmyTim, you are so naïve at times”.

He shrugs. “She punched Cory for me”.

“That asshole, urgh! Let me think, ok, pincushion protea and eucalyptus it is”.

She then grabs Doug and shows him the other main areas of the shop – clothing and accessories, decor, books.

“Downstairs there’s ‘The Club’, we do events like bachelorette parties, tarot readings, tea & book club meetings once a month, that kind of stuff”.

Doug winks at Tim, mouths a ‘so much estrogen here’.

Tim snorts, Pauline glares. “Boys, behave! “

As she and Doug go over her plans, deciding what to tackle first, Tim hears his phone go crazy.

<S> It’s him right? RIGHT?

<S> Outside Reliques?

<S> The hot new guy in town?

<S> Fuck, Tim!

<S> Check IG!!!

<S> #newhottie #explodingovaries #sexyaf

<S> I hate you

<S> Coming right there!

Tim snorts and checks. There he is, pics of golden boy in all sorts of yummy positions - abs, back, throat, arms… Uff, fucking teens shared him with the whole town. _Well, at least I’m gonna have visuals for… *ahem*._

Saoirse arrives as Doug is taking outside a few discarded pieces of furniture for a quick FacebookMarketplace sale. He greets her, not really looking at her in the eyes.

“I showed him the video”, Tim shrugs.

“Cool. See how I shifted gracefully? Not like this dog here. Even back then I was the best part of our power duo”.

“Shut up”, he pouts and looks at Doug who smiles at them, pats Tim’s curls and goes to greet the customer coming for the Atomic Starburst mirror.

“Uh? What was that?”, she asks.

“No idea”, he shrugs. “Doug’s hands on me are welcomed any time, though”, he grins.

_Yup, such a great day!_

When they are ready to leave, Pauline shoves Tim to the side.

“So… I observed him and sniffed him quite a bit”.

“Aaaand?”

“Is he your soul mate?”, she asks. Leave it to Pauline to be so direct.

“I don’t know”, he honestly answers. “I like him, a lot, though”.

She seems deep in thought. “You would know it, if he were. That’s what everyone says, I mean, people who have found ‘the one’”.

He nods, biting his lower lip. Wishes he could tell her how having him near makes him happy, how he aches for him. Is it really so important that he’s not his soul mate?

“I like him”, she decides. “I say go for it. Who cares about sappy love stories from older people”.

“I don’t even know if he’s into guys…”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out sooner or later, right?”

“Thanks for the work offer, Pauline. He needed it”.

“I needed him too. He seems like a good guy. I hope everything turns out fine”.

 

~

 

At dinner that night, Doug chats happily about the renovation work. He comes up with a few ideas of his own, that he wants to discuss with Pauline.

Tim notices how much progress he has made – from not talking and shying away from people to having work offers and beginnings of friendships.

“I know she’s hard to convince, but I think she’ll like what I have in mind”, the bear says, as he shoves heaps of pasta in his mouth.

Tim smiles back, sure Doug won’t be underweight for long. Things are shaping up.

 

Later, they dismantle the broken bed - it will get thrown in the garage with the smashed stools.

Doug sighs, Tim shrugs. “No biggie”, he repeats.

Golden boy tries to convince him to sleep in his bed, he will sleep on the floor.

“Sorry, but I’m a snob. I love my mattress. It’s firm and nice and comfy enough”.

“But…”

“It’s fine, believe me”.

Doug is hesitant, but Tim shoves him out of his door with a raspy ‘Goodnight’.

 

“Please”, the wolf prays. “Pretty, please! I’ve never asked for anything… Aside for my mom’s healing and yeah, that didn’t go too well, did it? Come on, Goddess, help a boy out!”

He sighs and settles with a book for the night.

 

When, some time later, a weight dips the mattress at his side, he smiles softly, mouths a silent ‘thank you’ and turns off the light.


	8. Golden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A weekend made for working, hunting and wanking.
> 
> Doug is settling in Arcadia, Tim is helplessly falling for him and there’s news coming up about golden boy’s true identity. Please, buckle up for the ride! ;-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is a song from Lady Antebellum.
> 
> And yes, books titles are real!
> 
> As always not beta’ed. Sorry!

 

He knows he probably shouldn’t be so happy that Doug keeps finding his way into his bed only when in bear form.

But Tim is an optimist and lives by the words of Winston Churchill - see, he actually remembers something from school - “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.

So what if he is smothered by heavy weight every now and then, finds coarse fur in his mouth, _urgh_ , or has to put up with a bit of snoring, _a bit too much, to be honest_ , if he ends up hugged by golden boy in the morning?

Until this keeps happening, all is peachy in his world - thank you very much.

And who knows, maybe things can evolve into something different, into something more, given time.

So the second day Tim wakes up enveloped by Doug’s musky, sweet smell - which he reckons as being exactly the second time the bear has slept in his home (well, if you don’t count the tranquilizer gun incident, of course he slept soundly in the guest bedroom after that, no one could have even moved a muscle for hours; also there was the whole night of talking shifter stuff on the sofa, they basically skipped sleep then) - well… two nights in a row sleeping together… that must mean something. Right?

Therefore, when he feels Doug trying to disentangle himself, Tim is very NOT ready to face daylight and reality - he’d like to bask in his happy fantasies a bit more - so he just clutches tighter.

Golden boy’s deep laugh makes him smile. “Gotta go to work. You just keep sleeping, it’s early”.

“Nooo”, he whines, nuzzling his neck. He feels Doug blush, his skin getting warmer under his cheek.

“Tim…”

“I can drive you there. Let’s sleep a bit more”.

“On my first official day at Reliques? That wouldn’t be very professional, don’t you think?”

“You are so lame!”, he pouts.

Doug laughs again and pushes him easily to the side. _Uff, not fair that I cannot do that_ , Tim thinks.

“Ok, ok”, he huffs and turns his back to the bear. He’s getting half-hard already and doesn’t really want to spook the guy with his uncontrolled libido. _Urgh._

As he burrows under the sheets, lamenting the loss of heat, Doug covers him with the striped blanket from the end of the bed, careful to tuck him in tightly.

“See you later”, he whispers, but Tim is already asleep.

 

~

 

After breakfast, Tim discovers he misses Doug.

_Fuck._

A few days of them living together and he’s already wondering how he will be able to go back to work full time come Monday. _Now, who’s lame?_

“Get a grip, Tim”, he growls to himself, as he decides to clean the house from top to bottom.

He starts from the bathrooms, then bedrooms, living room and kitchen - dusting and mopping within an inch of his life - and he’s quite proud of himself for being so focused on something aside the bear, but then… he gets sidetracked by laundry. _Of course._

Doug’s towels and clothes and underwear and socks are just… _Mmm_.

Golden boy’s smell is so delicious that Tim gives in to temptation - he cocoons himself in the past week’s sheets, lies his head on the bear’s pillow, presses a t-shirt to his nose (the light grey one, with ‘Pizza is my best friend’ written on it, that stretches oh so beautifully on Doug’s chest) and wanks quickly, coming after just a few strokes like a horny teen.

He feels slightly ashamed afterwards _am I being too much of a creep?_ as he throws everything in the washer and starts a load.

_At the least the whole place is gleaming_ , he shrugs to himself.

After a shower he decides to grab lunch with Marzia. They gossip about work and of course their boss is pissed at him for not being there breaking his back on those fucking mechanical catalogues.

He will have to put in more hours next week, now that Doug is busy as well at Pauline’s. The prospect is not very exciting.

They part ways, not before Marzia asks him with a wink when she will meet the newcomer. He rolls his eyes and she chuckles, “You are so easy to read, Timmo”.

At the supermarket on the way home, his phone pings with an unknown number.

< D > Thanks to your kind sister, I now have a phone. This is my number, you can reach me here. I cannot begin to thank you enough, Tim. Will bring dinner later if that’s ok with you. Let me know. Bytheway, this is Doug!

He laughs at the message. Who uses commas and shit nowadays? And no emojis?

< T > Fridge is full. Bring ice-cream?

< T > Later, grampa!

< D > Hey you!

< D > Don’t you make me put you over my knee ;-)

_Oh, fuck me!_ , he groans. _This bear is gonna be the death of me._

~

 

As he turns on the radio and starts putting away the groceries, trying to stack them efficiently between pantry and fridge - he’s a graphic designer after all, he even decants pistachios and almonds in vintage glass canisters with 80s bold lettering, _why not?_ \- a country song comes up.

And it seems like the Goddess is having fun with him.

“Gee, thanks so much”, he snorts, as he hears the soft lyrics.

 

_“You are golden_

_Precious as a prayer_

_Flyin' up through the air_

_While the rain is fallin'_

_Golden_

_Timeless as a kiss_

_Baby I don't wanna miss_

_Another perfect moment_

_To tell you How you make me feel_

_The day you strolled in_

_My heart was stolen_

_'Cause you are golden”_

 

He shakes his head and looks at the content of his fridge. Truly hopes Ansel or Saoirse, or Pauline for that matter, don’t show up unexpected - he wouldn’t know how to explain why it’s filled to the brim with fish and fruit (that he usually wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole). Yep, he even bought something called a honey pomelo, that he has no idea what it is but smells nice.

His buddies would tease him forever.

Speaking of Ansel… he’s been acting weird for some time, not calling or texting. He should probably be a better friend and have him over for a couple beers and try to see what’s going on. But he’s been too happy at the prospect of being alone at home with Doug so…

_Shame on you, Tim. You suck as a friend._

He quickly sends a text to the cop, suggesting a day of running and hunting and he replies quickly with a thumbs up.

Tim’s sure a full Sunday in the woods will do them both good.

_“Smallest parts of who you are_

_Are everything to me_

_From the way you laugh, the way you cry_

_To the way you love all me_

_Shadows run and darkness fades_

_When you come around_

_My single star among the grey_

_Always shining down”_

 

“Gah, my teeth are rotting”, he snorts. “Better go for a swim”. It’s either that or crawling up the walls anyways.

When he gets back from the lake, Doug is home and grabbing a pan of roasted vegetables from the oven.

Tim’s shoulders relax immediately and a grin spreads on his face. The smell is mouthwatering - both the food and Doug’s.

Seeing him putter in the kitchen does something to his stomach. _Yeah, fucking butterflies._

“Keep deluding yourself that exercise will help”, he chuckles to himself, before going for a quick shower.

And a wank, just in case. Wouldn’t want to make a fool of himself.

 

They end up eating at the coffee table in the living room, watching Park and Recs reruns until quite late at night.

Is it sappy that he feels so glad to just. be. with Doug?

To spend a Saturday night doing nothing special, just chatting about Pauline’s bizarre choices of second-hand books to offer her clients, especially in the DIY department (from ‘Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat’ to ‘Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself’ and ‘Make Your Own Sex Toys: 50 Quick and Easy Do-It-Yourself Projects’ - yeah, the Chalamets have a quirky sense of humour) or laughing at basically every single on screen interaction between Tom and Jerry?

He doesn’t know and doesn’t care. He’s just happy.

But of course Doug has to go and sorta ruin everything because… urgh… reality sucks!

“Hey, Tim, I wished to talk to you”.

“Uh?”, he’s distracted by Ron taking vegan bacon-strip samples at the health food store and throwing them in the garbage. _I hear you, buddy. I hear you._

“Listen, I… want to apologize for always ending up sleeping with you. It’s so not appropriate”.

“Uh?”, he blinks and tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

“I… It shouldn’t happen and… I’m probably ruining your sleep patterns and…”

“The fuck you talking about, Doug? Seriously, it’s not-”

“I mean it, Tim. I fully intend to do better and stay in my room from now on”.

He opens his mouth to retort but ends up shutting it; he has no right to pressure Doug in doing anything he doesn’t feel comfortable with.

“Sure. Whatever you prefer”, he shrugs. Hopes his smile looks genuine enough.

“So… I’ll head to bed now. It’s late and tomorrow I have to get up early and…”

“Good night, Doug”, he says softly. He means it.

 

When the daylight coming from the southern window wakes him up, Tim doesn’t recall having left the sofa, shut the tv off and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

_I must have dozed off_ , he muses while stretching. As his hand lands on the sheets on the other side of the bed, his heart starts beating faster.

They are still warm.

 

~

 

After a very satisfying day as a wolf - Ansel’s the best pal for that, constantly pushing him to run faster, chase harder - during which they bring a buck down and reconnect as friends (although Ansel keeps kinda quiet about his lingering sadness), Tim decides to go pick up Doug from work.

The shop is almost empty - new aquisitions from the antiques fair are under tarps in the back yard, while smalls have been brought upstairs in Pauline’s flat.

Big pieces of remaining furniture are pushed in the middle of the space, and paint swatches are pinned to every wall.

As he comes in, Tim sees Doug and Pauline in deep cleaning mode, prepping every surface for a fresh coat of paint. Of course he’s roped into helping and since they let him choose the Spotify soundtrack… they end up dancing and singing to the top of their lungs.

Golden boy is shy at first, but ends up doing an impressive rendition of the infamous Risky Business’ scene while sweeping the floor.

Pauline whoops and pumps her fist in the air, Tim thinks he’s going to have an heart attack.

After he wheezes a few shaky breaths, his sister may have to close his gaping mouth to stop him from drooling. _Gah._

When the giant pizza finally arrives, Tim thinks the weekend has been a resounding success, way better than most in his recent past. 

So when Nick calls, he answers with a grin. But he should have known better and just stop being a fucking Pollyanna.

Nate has news, they are summoned. They need to go and meet at Alpha’s. Now. Nick sounds uneasy as he speaks.

“What’s wrong?”, Tim asks, “Tell me”.

“They’ve been looking for him”, he whispers. “He… Just come asap, ok?”

“Give me something, man. You know I’ve always been on your side. Help a friend here!”

Nick sighs. “We’ve got his name. Looks like he’s someone important and-”.

“Fuck, Nick. Tell me. Now!”

“Just come here. Both of you”, he croaks. And as an afterthought he adds, “Bear’s name is Thomas Edgington Jr”.


	9. Thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys discover something about the bear’s past.   
> Things get in motion and are not necessarily good. Sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for homophobic slur.   
> BTW This is a work of fiction. That bears (pun intended) repeating because I don’t really like Armie’s parents irl (based on their public personas, obvs.) so… there’s that.  
> Also, a certain type of upbringing is bound to leave scars, in this case almost PTSD scars. Be kind to my boy - everything will make sense, I promise.

 

Driving is torture.

Tim almost wishes he asked Pauline to take them to the Alpha’s, but if things are bad (as Nick’s tense words suggested) he doesn’t want her involved. At least for as long as possible.

But that means he had no time to google THE name and find out something more. And now, he’s getting antsy. His fingertips itch to grab the phone and just be done with it. He needs to know.

That or… fuck the whole thing and hug the bear to his chest and tell him that a name is just a name. Who cares about those anyways?!

For all he knows, Doug may be a snotty millionaire or a pitiful homeless and Tim wouldn’t care less.

Although, if he’s honest with himself he fears what will come up. Is the guy married? Has he family and friends going crazy with worry at his absence?

Doug notices his nervous energy and asks him what’s going on, where are they going.

He tries to sound cheery when he tells him there’s news, that some investigation has started to bring results. But he fools no one.

He’s tense and it shows. Doug nods and furrows his brows.

“Are we going to be ok?”, he asks shily.

“Yes. Yes, we are”, Tim says with a new resolve. _We will find a way._

 

When they arrive at the headquarters, they are all there, waiting for them.

As Steve brings Doug in front of the main computer, Jade comes up to Tim.

“Thanks a lot”, she kisses his cheek. “Love the flowers.”

Ansel glowers at him, than comes and cleans the smear of lipstick from his skin. He looks intently at the deep berry stain on his thumb.

“Fenty Flamingo Acid”, he mutters to himself.

“Uh?”

“The lipstick!”, Ansel hisses, looking pissed.

“Man, you sure you’re straight?”, Tim chuckles.

“She wears it when she’s happy. Makes her dark skin glow”, he whispers. “You made her happy”.

“It’s just a bunch of flowers…”

“Yeah, sure”.

Tim is puzzled. Pauline was right, _damn, girls are always right about these things_. What the hell is going on with Ansel? He shakes his head, _there goes our friendly day of hunting together_ , and looks at Doug.

The bear’s gaze is focused on the monitor and the photo before him. Everyone is looking at the blond, waiting for a reaction of some kind. No words have been exchanged yet.

Tim goes to Doug and pats his shoulder - the bear turns towards him and blinks, nods absently and focuses back on the picture. He looks puzzled.

It’s a driving license, Tim notices, complete with date and place of birth, address, donor heart and fingerprints.

_Thomas Edgington Jr._

He looks younger, but there’s no doubt. The man in the picture is Doug.

“Rings a bell?”, Iris asks softly.

Golden boy shrugs. “Nope. Sorry”.

Alpha nods to Steve who proceeds to show them everything the detective has sent Nick.

The information provided is quite extensive.

State teaching license (Doug’s an elementary school teacher, _makes sense, he’s good with kids_ , Tim thinks), graduation ceremony pics (he and a girl, hugging, _no parents? how odd_ ), a newspaper clipping (he won an award for best teacher earning $5,000 to his school), and then back in time to a baseball game pic, a middle school Nativity play (in the shot he’s obviously Joseph, _fake beard and all_ , singing towards the manger)…

Last thing to pop up is the birth certificate.

He’s son to a Michael Edgington, businessman and philantropist, and a Dru Ann, née Mobley, real estate developer turned full-time Bible Study teacher and manager of discipleship programs. Both are benefactors of several Christian organizations dedicated to evangelism.

_Weird_ , Tim thinks. He knows the vast majority of shifters live either among humans, unbeknownst to them, or by themselves in small rural settlements based on packs, but regardless of living arrangements they usually follow the Ancient Religion. Such involvement in Christianity is not common, at least for what he knows.

He turns to Doug. He’s distressed, that much is easy to tell. While every piece of information he has looked at without much interest, his birth certificate has him all tensed up, hands tightly clenched in fists.

Tim wonders if he should do something, say something, but Iris beats him to it.

She touches the bear’s wrist and flinches. “Such anger, such hate”, she whispers and pales. “Come with me”.

Doug follows her meekly to a corner of the room and closes his eyes as she touches her forehead to his, ready to read his memories as best as she can.

Everyone else moves to the side, leaving them to their work.

“So… you found yourself a rich boyfriend, uh? Good for you!”, Cory raises his mug of coffee and Tim lunges to punch him.

“Can’t you see that he’s in pain, you asshole!”, he spits as he’s grabbed by Ansel and Jade.

“Tsk, tsk”, Cory shakes his head. “Such attitude! Keep it up and as soon as he recovers his memory he’s gonna leave your sorry ass in Arcadia and move back to his former life”.

“Just shut up, will you?”, Ansel scolds him and the cop shrugs.

“So, what do we do, now?”, Tim asks. “We should alert his family, right?” _Am I a shitty person for being happy that he is not married, no wife or children of his own, only parents and a younger brother?_ , he wonders.

“No! We won’t do anything of that kind”, Nick yells. Every head turns towards him, even Doug’s.

“There’s something I have to tell you. Nate called to alert me that he was sending the files and…”, he stops talking, nerves shake his slim frame. Tim’s skin crawls at the sight. _This is not good._

“His brakes…”, he chokes. “His brakes have been tampered with”.

“What?!”

“He’s sure it has something to do with the investigation - it’s happened because of Doug or Thomas or whoever he is”, he exhales.

Steve and Alpha nod to each other.

“Tell him to come here, Nick. We want to meet your cousin, have a chance to talk to him. Don’t worry, we’ll be discreet, he won’t understand anything about our ‘unusual’ town”.

Nick shrugs. “He wanted to come see me anyways. He’s pissed, but mostly worried about me”.

“Well, that may explain why Doug here disappeared for 4 years, maybe he’s runnning from-”

“4 YEARS?”, Doug’s anguished cry fills the room.

Deputy Roberts nods. “That’s what came up. You’ve been missing for quite some time. A Yellow Notice was issued, but since you are an adult…”

“Well, he was very rusty with speaking and shit. If he’s been living in bear form for 4 years…”

“He should have turned feral by now. No way that-”

“But he was first seen at a bar of all places!”

“Bears come near towns to look for food. Maybe being amongst humans prompted him to shift back and-”

“Stop, stop, stop”, Doug cries grabbing his head. He’s hyperventilating and Tim just takes his elbows and drags him outside.

_Fuck’em. Everyone sharing their fucking teories as if the bear wasn’t even there…_ Doug is in pain and Tim’s got enough of that bullshit. _Fucking Sherlock wannabes!_

As they leave, he hears Alpha telling Nick to invite Nate over but only at the end of the week. He has to inform the Council and the Shifter Bureau of Investigation, see what they think of the matter.

In the car, Doug bends over and grabs the dashboard, shivering. “Stop the car”, he whimpers after some time, as he leaps out of the moving vehicle. He vomits on a patch of grass while Tim rubs his back before handing him a bottle of water.

“Rinse your mouth. Let’s go home”.

“Iris saw… I saw…”, he croaks. “Oh, God…”

Tim bites his lip. _What the fuck is going on? Has he remembered something from the past? Something bad, obviously?_

On paper he seemed to have a such quiet life. A teacher, beloved by his students, awarded by his peers. _Although, why would someone with a wealthy upbringing end up doing such a humble, albeit important, job?_

Tim’s brain can’t keep from focusing on the image of tampered brakes. Of course he’s happy the detective was unharmed but...

Is someone chasing Doug? Maybe a shifter hunter that wants his parents to pay a hefty ransom?

Was the guy who spiked his drink at the club something worse than ‘just’ a creepy douche?

Is the bear in danger?

He tries to swallow the lump in his throat as he drives, but his anger is mounting and claws start to extend from his fingers.

_Calm down, Tim_ , he scolds himself. He inhales and exhales, focuses on driving them quickly and safely at home.

He has to have some herbal tea somewhere. Sersh likes to drink that stuff when she visits. He grabs a cup with shaky hands and suggests Doug to go draw a warm bath.

Golden boy nods and climbs the stairs, but when the tea is ready Tim finds him sitting on the toilet lid, gaze unfocused and breath hitching.

“Four years, Tim! I lost four years of my life?!”, Doug croaks. “The memory loss is bad enough, but… to know that I probably spent so many years in the woods, as a bear, alone…”

He chokes a sob.

“Hey, hey. You’ll get better, I have no doubts about that. And we will find out what happened. Don’t worry. As soon as we know you are safe _please, Goddess, let him be safe_ , we’ll contact your family and-”

The bear shivers. “I need to recover my memories, Tim. I feel there’s something I need to remember. I just know it in my bones!”

“Then we’ll find a way”, Tim nods. “You’ll see”.

“How can you always be so positive?”, he laughs bitterly.

_Maybe because I don’t care for anything except you?,_ Tim wishes he could say.

“Maybe because it’s not me the one who’s been chased by assholes with baseball bats and hit by a car?”, he says. “Of course it’s easy for me. But you… you should be proud of yourself. You are so strong and-”

“No, I’m not. I’m a total mess”, Doug exhales. “You must think I’m such a loser. No Alpha male here, that’s for sure”.

“Stop it, I don’t give a damn about this stuff”.

“But as shifters we should-”

“Listen. Arcadia is not… whatever kind of conservative situation your parents live in. I bet from what we read about them that they have very traditional notions of hierarchy and shit but… who the fuck cares?!”

“You just focus on regaining your strength, ok? Tonight was stressful enough! Bathtime it is”.

Doug chuckles. “I’m not a child”.

“And yet you’ll obey me”, Tim says with arched eyebrows and smiling eyes.

“Bossy wolf”.

“Yup. Now, let me go and make you a fresh cup of tea. This one won’t do anymore”.

Before leaving the room, he turns on the tub and lets it run, throws powered lavender and melissa into the water.

When Tim comes back, Doug is in the tub and he hands him the piping hot mug.

“Please, drink this. I’ll be near. Just call me if you need me, ok?”

His wolf growls - he wants to stay near the bear, comfort him, doesn’t understand why he has to leave him alone when he’s clearly hurting.

Tim exhales softly.

Life as a human is way more complicated than a simple pattern of eat-sleep-fuck and he’s pretty sure Doug needs time to himself. After some time, he hears him drain the water, pat himself dry and enter the bed with a sigh.

 

~

 

Tim is not surprised when later at night the nightmare starts.

He’s been unable to sleep - his senses, focused on Doug, get alerted by his emotional pain. The stench of fear and revulsion reaches his room, clinging to his nostrils.

He cannot stop himself, he has to go and check on the bear.

Golden boy’s legs are tangled in the sheets, eyes open but unfocused, hands clawing at the dark.

“Doug, hey, wake up”, he says softly, not wanting to spook him. “It’s just a nightmare”.

The bear mumbles something and shudders. Looks like he has a fever or something and Tim gets near to check on him.

_At least he hasn’t shifted. Yet._

“Doug? I mean… Thomas? Tom?” Golden boy doesn’t listen.

“Thomas Edgington Jr., wake up”, he tries but Doug seems to recoil at the name. _Maybe it came out harsher than intended_ , thinks Tim.

He grabs his shoulder and shakes him to wake him up, but Doug hisses and shoves him away.

“Don’t touch me”, he growls.

“Shh, it’s only me, Tim”.

“I said, Don’t touch me”.

“Ok, ok, I’m leaving, just wanted to make sure you are-”

“Leave me the fuck alone. I’m no fucking faggot! You hear me? Keep your hands off me!”

Tim flinches and stumbles back.

He grits his teeth, opens his mouth to say something but changes his mind. He slams the door shut and grabs his car keys.

 

« « « « « » » » » »

 

“I’m gonna rip his throat. You’ll see”, Saoirse announces caressing his curls.

He sighs and keeps polishing the salted caramel ice-cream she dug out of her freezer.

“I’m serious, Timmo. That asshole! After all you’ve done for him. Unbelievable!”

“He was out of his mind and-”

“What? You are not justifying him! No way!”

“Of course not. I just mean-”

“I’m gonna eat his face. You’ll see”, she growls again and although saying that Tim is upset is the understatement of the century he ends up laughing anyways because yeah, pissed Sersh is truly something else.

“Timmo, I’m so sorr-”

“I love you Sersh. What would I do without you?”, he whispers hugging her. His throat constricts and he feels silly for getting so emotional but truth is Doug’s hurt him and thank the Goddess for his best friend.

As soon as he rang her doorbell, she took a look at him and started stripping, telling him to follow her.

Their wild run ended with him howling at the moon until he was too hoarse to keep screaming his pain and rage.

“And now ice-cream”, she said as they shifted back. “It’s the best medicine I know”.

“I don’t want to go home”, he whimpers to her neck.

She rolls her eyes. “Of course you are sleeping here, you goose! But first… horror movie marathon. Need to research the most painful way to kill that asshole”.

“Gonna save the pelt though”, she grins manically grabbing the remote. “I need a new winter coat!”

He shakes his head and puts the phone on airplane mode.

 

Real life has fucked up his very nice weekend - no way it will ruin this night as well.

 


End file.
